Red Temptation
by Linzerj
Summary: Winner of the 2011 Best TMNT Crossover fanfic! What if a certain red-masked, hot-headed Turtle had rescued Brooklyn during Temptation instead of Demona? Friendships are formed as the unique NYC guardians meet and keep watch over their city.
1. Temptation  1

Hello there, fans of TMNT and Gargoyles! Welcome, welcome...welcome to my little fanfic!

I've recently become addicted to TMNT, and even more recently to Gargoyles. This is my first Gargoyles fic, though I have written TMNT in the past...so I don't know what this will be like. I assure you, though - it will be quite a fun little ride.

The current title is subject to change: however, the first two or three chapters take the place of the bulk of what happened in the Gargoyles episode _Temptation. _Now, mind you, I think the original episode was awesome - it gave Brooklyn a reason to despise Demona in later episodes, and I thought the plot was really interesting overall. However, after watching it, I couldn't help but wonder: _What if Raphael had been out on patrol or venting his anger, and he came across Brooklyn in need?_ Thus, this plot monster was born.

But, of course, I can't limit this to just _Temptation_ - where would the fun in that be? No, readers, I'm almost certainly going to do more after this. Gargoyles will continue onward as normal, maybe with some TMNT appearances here and there - those will be marked as chapters in this, mind you. But, I will have plenty of made-up situations with them meeting - mostly Raphael and Brooklyn, or Donatello and Lexington. Out of all the characters of both shows, I think those two pairs are the most alike, in all honesty. Raphael and Brooklyn are the 'hotheads', and Donatello and Lexington are the residential geniuses and inventors. Of course other characters will get the spotlight as well - I love them all, so all shall be in here sooner or later.

But, enough of my babbling, if you were patient enough to sit through that. I give you the first part of the newly rewritten: _Temptation_.

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

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><p><em><strong>Temptation - Part 1<strong>_

Raphael knew from the minute he spotted…_him_ that he was _not_ human. Even from the safe distance of a rooftop, he could see the horns were not part of the helmet, but were _real._ He knew that was a tail, too. And the beak was a dead giveaway. The hotheaded Turtle shook his head. He was out trying to blow off steam; and, while he didn't want anyone to get hurt, he was _kinda_ hoping the…thing would slip up, and that the other bikers might attack – just so Raph could have some _fun_.

And, true to form, the other bikers did realize something was not right; but when the thing spread his wings, even Raphael was shocked – but just for a moment. Because, then, a gun was aimed straight for the other creature.

Raphael, being a mutant Turtle, hated it when humans were prejudiced and biased against the 'others' of the world. Pointing a gun at something clearly not human: that was an act of prejudice. And that was all Raph needed to jump into action.

Shurikens often come in handy, and throwing one at a gun often makes it explode. It also gives time to any would-be victims – the creature, in this case – to get out of the way. The creature's bike, however, was an inanimate object, and could therefore not avoid the bullet that actually managed to leave the gun's chamber.

Even though Raph was now facing the back of the enraged being, he could see the eyes glow white with rage as the thing snarled, "My bike!" Raphael knew how the thing felt. His own bike got blown up all too often – though Donatello was always ready to repair it, and try and make it even better than before.

Unfortunately, this creature didn't have that luxury, it seemed, because he was now taking on bikers left and right. This was when Raphael finally decided it was time to _really_ jump into the fray.

Fighting, to Raphael, was as easy and fluid as breathing the air. Punches, kicks, jabs, blocks, a few stabs with a sai – twists, flips, sweeping legs out from under others – all in a day's work, and all too easy, especially with an enraged…something fighting alongside.

But bikers clearly outnumbered them, two to nearly twenty, and without his bros there for backup, _and_ with the bikers having a few more guns, Raphael wasn't willing to risk anymore. Besides, he'd vented his anger well enough – for now. He grabbed the hand of the red creature and pulled him to a nearby alleyway, growling, "Come on, let's get outta here already!"

He heard a few shouts and a gunshot or two as they both ducked into the alley, but Raph barely noticed. He barely even noticed the glowing rage fade from the thing's eyes, to be replaced by more…sentient eyes, in a way similar to when Leatherhead came out of a rage. Hard determination, however, remained on the creature's face.

Raphael quickly navigated the fire escape up to the roof, an all too common practice for him, but when he stopped for a second to look down for the other, he realized two things: one, the thing was _not_ climbing the fire escape, and two, it was climbing the wall – which explained the crunching noise Raph was now hearing.

The Turtle shook his head, and continued up until he was on the roof. The creature climbed up a second later, but Raphael was already running, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He heard a _whoosh_, and realized, without even looking up, that the thing was flying after him – a thought confirmed when he noticed the shadow next to him.

Finally, panting with exhaustion, Raphael skidded to a stop a good distance away from the bikers, leaning against a chimney for support. Looking up, mild shock on his face, the red thing glided down and landed next to him, wings folding up around him like a cloak as the other tried to catch his own breath. He turned to Raph, and the Turtle was even more shocked to see genuine gratitude in the creature's eyes.

"Thanks for the save," he breathed, straightening up as his wings became unfolded again. Raphael smiled.

"Ah, no problem," he replied. "It was fun. Shell, it's always fun to bust a few punk heads and help someone out. By the way, my name's Raphael." Pausing for a second, Raph extended his three-fingered hand.

To Raph's surprise, the creature didn't turn down the handshake like most humans who stayed longer than usual did – but that was probably because he wasn't human either. Instead, the four-fingered hand grasped his, and the two shook as the creature said, "I'm called Brooklyn. Nice to meet you."

Raphael smirked. "Brooklyn, huh? Sweet name… So, Brooklyn, what exactly are you?" Raph figured he might as well cut to the chase; if he didn't the question would've bugged him forever – or until he met Brooklyn again. Whichever.

Brooklyn's tail twitched, the only signal of any discomfort in the question, as he replied, "I'm a gargoyle."

Raph's eye ridge went up at this. "Really? So…you turn to stone or something? Cuz gargoyles are stone…"

Brooklyn chuckled. "Actually…ah, Goliath's gonna kill me for telling you this, but…only some gargoyles, like myself and the others of my Clan, are alive. The rest are just that: stone statues. And, actually, we turn to stone to sleep during the day."

Raph blinked. "Wow. That's…"

"Weird?" the red gargoyle supplied. Raphael shook his head, now smirking.

"I was actually gonna say 'cool'," he countered. This caused Brooklyn to grin, showing off his fangs.

"Oh, I almost forgot – what are _you?_"

Raphael almost laughed. He saw the question coming, but it always amazed him how _few_ people actually realized he and his brothers were Turtles. "I'm a Turtle – a mutant Turtle. Seriously, why do people always have a hard time figuring that out? I'm green; I've got a shell…"

Brooklyn's grin faded a little, leaving a sad smile on his face. "Actually…I've never actually seen a Turtle before, save for when Lex was showing me a few pictures from the Web."

Raphael blinked. "Uh…where are you from, again?"

Brooklyn barked a short laugh. "Honestly? Scotland, 994."

"No way." Raph's mouth was just about to hit the floor. "That's…that's over 1000 years ago. And I'm guessing gargoyles don't live forever."

Brooklyn shook his head. "No…my clan and I were encased in a stone sleep 'until the castle rose above the clouds'. Xanatos bought our castle, and put it on top of his skyscraper; when we were finally put in place, and once the sun set, we woke up."

Raph gave a low whistle. "Wow. Sounds kinda like time travel – which I've done, by the way. It's actually horrible – made me sick to my stomach."

Both of them laughed at that, until Brooklyn finally sighed as he noted the lightening sky. "Crap, it's almost sunrise. I've gotta get back to the castle, or Goliath will be _really_ mad."

Raphael sighed. "Yeah, guess it's time to head back. Leo'll kill me if I miss morning practice…again…" Raph turned to Brooklyn, smile on his face. "Hey, Brooklyn…wanna meet up again tomorrow? Central Park, by the fountain, a little after sunset?"

Brooklyn grinned, obviously pleased by the idea. "Sure, sounds fine!"

Raph grinned as well. "You know, Brooklyn…I feel this is the start of a beautiful friendship. See ya tomorrow!"

"See ya, Raph!" In a swish of wings, Brooklyn was gliding through the ever lightening sky, as Raphael made his way to a nearby manhole, descending into the sewers. Oh, this was going to be one beautiful friendship indeed.


	2. Temptation 2

Onward, with the tale of _Temptation_!

Oh, and by the way - in TMNT time, this takes place in the 2003 universe, just to clear up any confusion. Why? Because, for me, it makes more sense - and it means I can have Klunk be friends with Bronx, later have Angel and Angela bond, and so I can use the Purple Dragons when I need to.

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

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><p><em><strong>Temptation - Part 2<strong>_

Brooklyn soared back to the castle, hoping desperately to make it there before sunrise. He sure didn't want to risk turning to stone mid-flight, and then falling and shattering on the streets below. The red gargoyle fortunately made it, not a second too soon.

Elisa had been discussing something with Goliath, but the leader broke off from her as Brooklyn landed. He couldn't tell, however, if Elisa was happy with this drop of conversation, or annoyed by it.

"Brooklyn...how was your...joy ride?" Goliath asked. Brooklyn blinked.

"Um...great, I guess," he muttered. Goliath's eyes, however, narrowed.

"When the sun sets, we're going to talk about how close you're cutting it," the larger gargoyle hissed so that only he could hear. Brooklyn gulped, but got into position anyway, and just as the sun came up.

* * *

><p>"Raphael!"<p>

_Oh, boy_, Raphael thought as he walked into the Lair. Leonardo was standing there with Michelangelo and Donatello, all with mixed looks of concern on their faces.

"Raphael, where have you been?" Leonardo demanded as soon as the elevator doors shut. "You almost missed morning practice - and don't blame me if you're too tired to do it!"

"Sorry, Leo," Raph mumbled, walking past Leo toward the dojo. "I just got...caught up in something."

At this, Leo blinked. Raph, apologizing? It had formerly been unheard of. Mike and Don were obviously thinking the same thing.

"Whoa, Raph, what happened up there?" Mikey asked, poking Raphael as he sat down on the sofa. "Are you even Raph anymore?"

"Yeah...our Raph only apologizes once in a blue moon," Don noted, crossing his arms. Raphael sighed.

"Look...I guess I'm just tired, OK? I'll get back to pounding Mikey once training's over...and after I get a good nap."

* * *

><p>Brooklyn sighed as Goliath finally finished his lecture. The sun was already a few minutes down, and he didn't want Raphael to be waiting.<p>

"OK, OK, Goliath!" Brooklyn grumbled. "I know, I know, I know not to cut it so close. It was a one-time thing, promise. Now, can I _go?_"

Goliath sighed. "Yes, fine, but-!" Brooklyn didn't hear the rest, because he had already leapt of the building and was gliding toward Central Park.

The red gargoyle spotted the fountain easily enough. Thankfully, no one was around - but even Raphael wasn't there. He shrugged, deciding to land anyway, and maybe wait for the Turtle. As his feet touched the ground and his wings wrapped around his shoulders like a cloak, he then spotted a shape coming toward him at a leisurley pace.

"Oh, hey, Brooklyn!" It was Raphael. "Good, I'm not too late. I got a lecture from Leo about how late I was staying out..."

"Same here," Brooklyn said, nodding his head. "I know Goliath means well and all, but I've heard that lecture at least a hundred times by now."

Raphael laughed. "I feel the same way. So, anyway...what d'ya wanna do?"

Brooklyn shrugged. "Honestly? I dunno. I thought you might've thought up something to do or talk about or whatever."

Raph sighed. "Man, I knew I forgot to do something before I left...apparently, that was 'thinking of a coversation starter'." Both of them laughed at this for a good minute or two, until the laughter died away.

Brooklyn turned out to the city, where lights were now shimmering full-force. "So...you wanna do a patrol or something?"

Raphael turned to face the red gargoyle, and grinned, taking out his sai and spinning them in pleasure. "Now yer really talking my language!"

* * *

><p>Raph grinned, taking pleasure in this activity. He leapt nimbly from rooftop to rooftop, easily keeping up with Brooklyn, who was gliding a little above the roofs, but not so high that Raph couldn't poke him if he wanted to.<p>

"So - patrol often?" Raphael shouted over the racing wind. Brooklyn's acute ears, however, still heard, and he turned back, smirking.

"Pretty much every night - you?"

"Same!" Brooklyn smirked at this.

"Why have we never met before?"

"You tell me!"

They laughed again, finally stopping on top of an office building. Raphael was panting, but delight was etched into his features.

"You know - this is great," Raph breathed. "We should do this - more often."

Brooklyn smiled, folding his wings up around himself like a cloak. "I know," he sighed. "It's pretty fun...ah, but Goliath won't let me go off on my own like this every night..."

"Neither will my bros," Raphael pointed out. "Why don't we...I dunno, get to neutral ground someplace, and introduce everyone? Or at least...two of my bros. Leo's a bit of a hardcase, by Mikey and Don..."

Brooklyn sighed. "Well...I could introduce them to my rookery brothers, Lexington and Broadway..."

Raphael's eyeridge went up. "Say - are you all named after New York landmarks or something? Aside from Goliath, anyway?"

Brooklyn nodded. "Yeah - the oldest, our retired clan leader, is named Hudson - and we even have a watchdog, called Bronx."

"You know, we've got a 'father' figure - our sensei, Master Splinter - who'd probably get along with Hudson," Raphael mused. "And Mike's got this little cat, Klunk - maybe Bronx will eat him for me."

The red gargoyle laughed at this. "I don't think Bronx likes eating cats very much - but maybe he'd get along with your little kitty. Then everyone'd be happy."

Raphael grinned. "Maybe...heh, maybe we could get my human friends in on this, too. There's April and Casey - and even Angel might like to meet you guys."

Brooklyn nodded. "Elisa would probably like having other humans to talk to - I mean, she has her detective partner Matt, but he doesn't know about us..."

At this, Raph grinned even wider. "Well, you should have Elisa introduce him to you guys some time - and then to us. I'm sure he and Casey'd get along swimmingly..."

Brooklyn smiled and replied, "That's actually not a bad idea...I'll ask them about it."

"Great," Raph said, nodding. "Maybe we can-"

"Raphael!"

Raphael cursed under his breath as Brooklyn strained to see the source of the voice. "Who-?"

"My oldest brother, Leondaro," Raphael growled. He turned to Brooklyn, sighing. "Uh...you can stay or go, your call."

As Raphael finished his sentence, a shadow passed over the two, and Brooklyn looked up before heaving a sigh of his own. "Well, Goliath is here, too - I guess we're both in for it."

"...I blame you."

"Hey!"

They didn't have time to argue, however, as Goliath landed in front of the pair, folding his own wings up as a cloak. Raphael's eyes widened at the sight of the larger gargoyle. "Holy shell..."

Goliath glanced at the Turtle, and then, to Brooklyn, hissed, "Brooklyn, who is this? What are you doing?"

"Exactly what I was going to ask you, Raphael." All three heads turned at the arrival of Leonardo, who was glaring daggers at Raph. The red-banded Turtle gulped.

"Uh, hey, Leo..."

"Don't give me that, Raph," Leo reprimanded, marching up to his immediate youngest. "I knew you were up to something - but you have some serious explaining to do!"

"As do you, Brooklyn," Goliath growled at the red gargoyle. "But first, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Goliath, and this is Brooklyn."

"I'm Leonardo, and this is Raphael," Leonardo said, giving a formal Japanese bow - out of habit, more or less. "Uuh...nice to meet you, I suppose."

Goliath just grunted at this, and that could have meant anything. Leonardo stood, waiting. Raph and Brooklyn exchanged glances, before stepping up to the plate.

"Um...Raph kinda saved me, Goliath," Brooklyn said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I...sorta owe him my life."

"Though I already told him that it's not really a big deal," Raph said, shrugging. "I save people - its what I do."

Leonardo continued to glare at Raphael, while Goliath looked over the two red-themed non-humans with a critical eye. "You...are protectors, as well?" he finally asked the two Turtles.

Leo was the one to answer. "Yeah, you could call it that," he said. "We just save innocents from getting hurt, really - and we stop some of our biggest enemies, the Foot Clan and the Purple Dragons...but that's not really important right now. Uh, if you don't mind me asking...I'd like to know...what exactly are you?"

"Gargoyles." It was Brooklyn who responded. "We're gargoyles."

"And what exactly are you?" Goliath asked.

"My brothers and I are mutant Turtles," Leonardo said simply. "It's a long story..."

Goliath nodded in understanding. "It's fine, you do not have to explain tonight." Leo smiled slightly at this.

There was a moment of silence, before Raph finally broke it. "So, uh...Leo? Am I in trouble?"

Leo shrugged. "That depends," he said simply, before turning back to Goliath. "I, uh...I'm always ready to make allies, especially with those...not human. We've...gotta look out for each other. So, um...would you-?"

"I would gladly call you ally - maybe even friend," Goliath interrupted, smiling. The gargoyle held out his hand, and Leonardo took it, smiling as well.

"Sweet!" Brooklyn cheered, tail whipping in excitement.

"Does this mean we can keep patrolling together? Please, Leo?" Raph asked. Leonardo shared a quick glance with Goliath, and then turned back to Raph, smirking now.

"Well, Raph...you get to tell Master Splinter, Mike, and Don about this, and you have to introduce them."

"As you, Brooklyn, must do regarding Hudson, Lexington, and Broadway," Goliath added.

The two hotheads shrugged simultaneously. "Fine," Brooklyn replied. "It's really not that big a deal."

Raphael grinned. "Heh..." he muttered, glancing over at Brooklyn, "looks like this really is going to turn out to be a beautiful friendship after all."


	3. First Encounters

OK, so...now Donatello, Michelangelo, and Splinter meet Lexington, Broadway, and Hudson. Plus, a few Purple Dragon heads get bashed. Should be fun!

...And this is actually one of the longest things I've ever written. Wow...I wonder, will the rest be this long...?

By the way, sorry for the...slightly weird ending. But, hey, it was getting long, and it needed to be wrapped up somehow...

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

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><p><em><strong>First Encounters<strong>_

Donatello found himself gawking; nowadays, a rare occurance indeed.

Looking back, Donatello himself would probably be astounded that he had gawked at that sight. After all, he _was_ a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, with three brothers just like him, along with his mutant rat sensei/father; one of his best friends was a mutant crocodile; his greatest enemy was what Michelangelo called a 'pink space slug'; he knew of at least four kinds of aliens (the Utroms, the Triceratons, the Federation, and Jhanna's race); he had seen all sorts of mutants; he had been cloned and almost experimented on; he himself had been further mutated (thankfully cured now); he had traveled through different dimensions; he had time traveled; _and_ he had built a portal into cyberspace. It was hard to find anything to really gawk about.

But, of course, a few minutes after the sun sank down, when the winged creatures suddenly landed in front of him and his family, Donatello gawked.

Even after Raphael and Leonardo had explained it, it still seemed...improbable. Surely, even though the 'newcomers' had only been in the city a few months, they would have already met them or heard about them. Obviously, though, these guys were just as stealthy as the ninja Turtles.

Nevertheless...Donatello was gawking at the sight of real, flesh-and-blood _gargoyles_. He...he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Gargoyles. Ha, haha...

Michelangelo obviously couldn't believe it either. The youngest Turtle was also gawking, as if he, too, couldn't fully wrap his mind around it. Splinter, on the other hand, seemed perfectly calm; the only indication of any surprise was a twitch of his tail and the slight narrowing of his eyes.

Even the gargoyles, aside from the lavender-blue and red ones, seemed astounded at the sight of the Turtles. The oldest one seemed in disbelief, though he did have a bit of an air of curiosity. The aqua-colored one seemed shocked, either just at the way they looked, or maybe because of the fact that there were others out there who were as strange as them. The short green one, with webbed wings similar to that of a flying squirrel, was also gawking. It was quite obvious that even the foreknowledge of their new allies still couldn't prepare one for such a startling sight.

Anyway...Raphael had already exchanged a high-five with the red gargoyle with a beak-like mouth and a white mane. "Bros, Sensei," the red-banded Turtle said, the first to speak since the gargoyles landed, "I'd like to introduce my friend Brooklyn...who will hopefully introduce you to his clan, since I don't exactly know who's who."

Brooklyn shoved Raph in a friendly/brotherly sort of way, and then turned his attention back to the Turtles. "Um, yeah...my name's Brooklyn," he repeated. "This is my clan's leader, Goliath." He gestured to the largest gargoyle, the lavender one, who bowed shortly to them. "Then our old leader and mentor, Hudson." The oldest one gave a slight nod to them, obviously still trying to shake off the shock. "And then, my rookery brothers: Broadway - " the aqua colored gargoyle grinned slightly - "and Lexington." The green web-wing gave a small wave.

Leonardo, true to form, was the first to speak from the Turtles side, introduction-wise. "It's nice to meet you," he greeted, bowing. "My name is Leonardo; I'm the leader of my brothers. Oh, and this is our father and sensei, Splinter." Splinter bowed as well, and then Leonardo stepped back, giving Raph the stage.

"I'm Raphael," Raph said, grinning. "These are my other bros: Michelangelo, the youngest and the goofball - " Mikey grinned and waved - "and Donatello, the techno-genius." Donatello smiled a bit sheepishly, giving a quick bow.

Goliath, the big blue leader, stepped forward. "It is an honor to meet you," he said in his rumbling bass. Leonardo, the one he was right in front of, smiled and bowed again.

"The honor is ours," Leonardo said. He started to say something else, but Donatello tuned it out. As leaders, both were probably going to talk about something...well, leader-like. Battle strategies or retreating tactics or some such nonsense...

Out of the corner of his eyes, Donatello noted that Splinter and Hudson were talking quietly, but he didn't pay them much mind - what would he talk about with them?

Michelangelo and Broadway were talking about food, comics, and movies, and so he skipped over them, too. Brooklyn and Raphael were leaning against the wall, watching all of them with content in their eyes. Donatello decided he wouldn't ruin their moment. That left one unaccounted for...

"Uh, hey." The voice from behind him startled Don at first. But after a second, he realized it was the last gargoyle, Lexington, and so he turned, a nervous smile on his face.

"Hey," Don said, the edginess evident in his voice. "Er...I'm Donatello. You can just call me Don, though."

"I'm Lexington, but you can just call me Lex," the gargoyle said back. There was a moment of silence between them, and Don took the moment to look over the gargoyle. He was green, similar to his own olive green, or maybe Leo's light green. His wings weren't on his back, like the rest of them, but were attached to his arms, similar to the webs of a flying squirrel. Lex didn't have any hair, and the only small horns he had were on the edge of his eye-ridges. He was about five feet tall, and therefore about the same height of Don and his brothers. If he had a shell instead of wings and a tail, he'd probably fit right in with the Turtles.

Speaking of which - Don noticed Lex's tail was twitching slightly. The Turtle recognized it as a sign of discomfort or uncertainty - something he picked up from noting Splinter's tail when his master was unceratin about something, or when there was any awkward pause. This realization...caused Don to burst out laughing.

Lex cocked an eyebrow - er, eyeridge. "What's so funny?"

Don covered his mouth with one of his hands. "S-sorry," he giggled. "It's just...er...the way your tail was twitching...reminded me of the way Splinter's tail twitches sometimes. I just...haha...sorry!"

Lex, to Don's surprise, actually broke out in a grin and chuckled a little. "Heh, it's fine - a weird way to start a conversation, but, it's fine!"

Don opened his mouth to say more, but was cut of by an "ahem" from behind. Lex and Don turned around to see Michelangelo and Broadway behind them, both grinning.

"Hey, Don, Broadway and I were talking, and I'm gonna take him on a little tour of the greatest eats in Manhattan!" Mike proclaimed, grinning insanely. "Wanna come?"

"You should come too, Lex!" Broadway piped up. "Come on, please?"

Lex and Don both grinned. "Sure," Don replied, nodding. Then, the 'Techno-Turtle' noticed something. "Hey...where'd Raph, Brooklyn, Leo, Goliath, Splinter, and Hudson go?"

Mike turned around and shrugged. "I dunno - probably out. So...coming or not?"

Lexington shrugged this time. "Why not? We've got nothing better to do!"

* * *

><p>Mike and Don leapt from rooftop to rooftop, easily keeping pace with Lex and Broadway, who were gliding overhead. Whenever Mikey skidded to a halt, Donny close on his heels, Lexington and Broadway would land, and Michelangelo would tell them about where they were, what kind of food was served at the restaurant, and mention if they had deliveries or not.<p>

All this, of course, brought up a few questions for Lexington. The next time he and his rookery brother landed, Lex asked Mikey, "Hey, Mike? How do you know about all these things? It's not like you can just waltz in there..."

Mikey shook his head. "Well, me and my bros sometimes go out when it's really dark in trenchcoats. We also have a few human friends: April, Casey, and Angel. They sometimes bring us stuff, or let us use their phones to order takeout."

Broadway got a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Hmm, I wonder if Elisa would do that for us..." Lexington just sighed, and Don sighed with him.

"Come on, Mike, we've still gotta get back," Don said. "We don't know what the others' plans were, so if we're not back at that rooftop soon, they might get worried."

"Ah, don't sweat it, Don," Mike said, shrugging him off. "I want to at least show them one more place. Please, please please?"

Don gestured for Mike to lead on, and Mikey grinned widely before taking off, the others close behind. They soon arrived near Central Park, where Michelangelo paused on one of the last rooftops before the wide street, causing Lexington and Broadway to land as Donatello skidded to a halt.

"Mike, what's up?" Don asked his youngest brother.

"Uh..." the orange masked Turtle hesitated. "Well...nevermind. I thought I saw..." Mike looked back across to Central Park, where he thought he had seen something moving in the shadows. "Ah, nevermind. Anyway, we're here!"

As Mikey began to drone on about the Chinese restaruant they were standing on, something _was_ moving in the shadows. If one squinted hard enough, he or she could just make out the ripped muscles on the arm sporting a tattoo of a purple dragon.

* * *

><p>Hun was not a very patient man. "C'mon, you losers, hurry it up," he snarled at one of the Purple Dragons, who happened to be carrying a bazooka. "We can't wait, and we <em>can't miss.<em>"

The Purple Dragon, who also happened to be a rooky, nodded, with a nervous expression on his face. Hun sighed at this. He only took that one rooky along because the guy was pretty well-built. And...hey, the guy might as well get used to the Purple Dragon life. He'd have to learn sooner or later, right?

Hun hoisted his own bazooka up, and looked through the scope. The two Turtles and the winged freaks were moving now. The freaks glided over his men, though most didn't notice. Hun, however, turned to track them with his dark eyes. They were headed toward the old fountain almost no one visited anymore...and, since the two Turtles had been hanging around with them, they were probably headed there too. Hun did notice they were gone from his view when he looked back to the rooftop they had previously been on.

"I think I know where they're going," Hun said to now-concerned Purple Dragons. "They're headed for the fountain - come on!"

* * *

><p>Something was bothering Lexington, but the web-winged gargoyle didn't know what. For some reason, it seemed like something was out of place here. However, he pushed the feeling aside as Michelangelo and Donatello emerged from the bushes near where he and Broadway had landed.<p>

"Dude, we seriously need to hang out more often now that we know each other!" Mikey exclaimed, excitement making his blue eyes sparkle behind his orange mask. "This is actually really fun!"

Don scoffed. "Yeah, well, you think just about everything's fun until it's proven dangerous, Mikey," the purple-banded Turtle retorted.

Mikey opened his mouth to retort, but a slight rustle in the trees had them all snap to attention, going back-to-back instinctively. Eyes darted around; three sets of various shades of brown, and one set of blue. Then there was the hiss, and the four just managed to dodge the oncoming projectile.

_BANG!_

The fountain went up in a spectacular explosion, but the gargoyles and Turtles couldn't gawk at it. Their enemies had revealed themselves, and said enemies had Mikey nervously twirling his nunchucks while Donatello held his bo staff at the ready. Broadway and Lexington also adopted fighting stances.

"Hun," Don snarled at the largest of them all, a man with a tattoo of a purple dragon on his musclar forearm and with the scars of an old claw-wound on one cheek. "You and the PDs really wanna go right now?" He gestured to Broadway and Lex. "We happen to have a few, ah...new friends."

Hun snarled back at Don. "We'll take you Turtles and any _freak_ allies of yours _any_ day. Purple Dragons, get 'em!"

The wave of ten or so Purple Dragons all leapt for the Turtles and gargoyles at the same time, which was pretty stupid on their part. Lashing nunchucks, a sweeping bo staff, and swipes from the two gargoyles was enough to send all of them flying back. Hun slapped his head. OK, that was just bad planning on his part...but he wasn't done yet.

"You freaks!" he growled, launching himself at Don. The olive-colored Turtle's chocolate eyes went wide, and he put up his bo in instinctive defense, but Hun simply grabbed it as he landed and used it to throw the shocked Turtle into a tree.

"Donny!" Michelangelo then flew at Hun, but was quickly knocked aside by a well-maneuvered leg sweep. The Turtle hit the ground on his shell, and moaned in slight pain. At this, Broadway's and Lexington's eyes flashed.

With a roar, Broadway hit Hun at full force, but the strong man was incredibly able to hold him at bay. They were in a deadlock, until a hiss from Lexington proceeded Hun getting his legs sweeped out from under him by a lashing tail.

With Hun down, Broadway used to moment to look back and make sure Mikey was OK - but Hun used that advantage to spring up and knock the large gargoyle onto the smaller Turtle, where both lay groaning.

With Don knocked out cold and Broadway and Mikey out of commission, Lex realized he was now alone with a man who might have been as big as Goliath, and nearly as strong. However, the web-winged gargoyle would not give up. His eyes glowed, and he hissed at Hun, baring his fangs and readying his clawed hands. Hun grinned and cracked his knuckles as he bore down on the small gargoyle.

"This ought to be entertaining."

But the first punch missed - Hun had not expected Lex to be _that_ fast! He turned, and sneered at the now-cocky-looking gargoyle, who was standing a few feet away. He lunged again, but Lex jumped out of the way at the last second and slammed onto his back.

This time, however, Hun really was ready for anything. He managed to roll over, causing the gargoyle to jump off of him in surprise. However, Lex couldn't get out of reach in time, and Hun grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against a tree. Weakly, Lex's eyes managed to open, no longer glowing with rage, but now filled with fear.

And at that expression, Hun smirked. "Who's the tough guy now?"

* * *

><p>Splinter felt...rejuvinated, running across the rooftops with only Hudson gliding overhead, and without his sons to make him feel...old. The older gargoyle, too, seemed to be enjoying himself.<p>

Though his two youngest sons had been oblivious, he had told Raphael and Leonardo that they might want to try patrolling with their newfound friends, Goliath and Brooklyn. Unexpectedly, Goliath had countered that Splinter patrol with Hudson, and both older warriors had taken the younger leader of the gargoyles up on the challenge.

The air was cool, a sign of the approaching winter months, but for once it wasn't as loud as it could be. There were less honking horns, not as many headlights below, and fewer shouts for a taxi or for a friend. They must have been in a quieter part of the city, near Central Park, Splinter noted...

Then the atmosphere was broken by the loud _bang_ from Central Park. At the sound, Splinter skidded to a stop to look out at the park and identify where the sound had originated. Hudson landed next to him, his good eye fixed on the spot where smoke was now billowing.

"Shall we investigate?" the gargoyle asked.

Splinter nodded, still fixed on the source of the explosion. "Yes, I think it might be best..."

Hudson took to the air as Splinter took to the shadows. He managed to get there easily enough - they hadn't been too far, and it was easy to slip in and out of the shadows of the trees. Hudson landed on a tree branch above him, and together they peered through the leaves at the carnage.

Purple Dragons were attacking...Michelangelo, Donatello, Lexington, and Broadway, Splinter realized with a start. He felt a growl deep in his throat, but pushed it down. He expertly moved forward, managing to not rustle any leaves, into a better position in case he needed to intervene. Above him, he heard Hudson growl, and, sparing a quick glance up, saw his eyes flash a glowing white.

At that moment, Hun had grabbed Lex and smashed him against the tree he and Hudson were hiding behind. "Who's the tough guy now?" he asked Lex, sneering.

"Us, I believe." Hudson's voice startled Hun so badly, he loosened his grip and allowed Lex to get free. At that moment, Hudson leapt down from the tree, eyes glowing and sword drawn. Splinter, too, emerged from the cover of the shadows, standing next to Hudson and facing Hun, ready to battle.

Hun's bloodshot eyes locked with Splinter's onyx, and the Rat saw pure hatred flare. "You," Hun hissed. "Oh, I am _so_ going to enjoy this..." The large man cracked his knuckles menacingly, but it didn't faze Splinter a bit.

"You should be worried about yer own safety, lad," Hudson remarked, sword sparkling in the moonlight. "Now it's three on one."

Sure enough, behind Hun, Lex raised his arms, showing off dagger-sharp claws along with his webbed wings, and snarled. Hun blinked and turned full circle as all three advanced on him, yet he made the first move, striking at Splinter.

The Rat still had more experience, however, and was able to not only dodge, but was also able to grab Hun's arm mid-punch and flip the man onto his back as if he were no more than a rag doll. The larger man moved to rise, but suddenly his arms were pinned down by the snarling Hudson and Lexington, who were stepping on his arms to make them immobile. Hun looked back at Splinter, who was actually glaring at him.

"Surrender, Hun," the Rat said, his voice still calm. "You are outnumbered, and have clearly lost."

Hun growled. "This isn't over, _freaks_." And at that, an armored car sped around the corner, blinding Lex, Hudson, and Splinter, and causing them to jump out of the way, and off of Hun. The man leapt off the ground and jumped in the door, which had been opened by a fellow member inside. The other PDs had come to, and were jumping in the back as the truck sped off.

By now, Broadway, Don, and Mike had also come to. "Daang..." Mikey said, watching the car go. "Why is it Hun always manages to get away?"

Don shrugged, as Broadway noted, "Hey, we had quite a night, though."

"Maybe we should do this again sometime," Lex remarked.

"I don't think so, lad," Hudson said, though his eyes were twinkling with amusement.

Splinter's onyx eyes, too, were filled with amusement. "Yes, my sons. You may go and do whatever you'd like with your new friends, but I think I would prefer to just...sit and talk."

Mikey shrugged. "Alright, that's cool, sensei. Tomorrow night, then, we should grab Raph and Brooklyn, and maybe Leo and Goliath, too, and REALLY bust some Purple Dragon heads."

Broadway and Mikey high-fived - foured...threed? Whatever - and walked back toward the rooftops with Lex and Don, discussing what tomorrow night was going to be like.

Still by the now-destroyed fountain, Splinter and Hudson shared a look. "I believe this is going to be an...interesting alliance," Splinter noted.

Hudson let out a short laugh. "Aye, I'm certain it will be."


	4. Enter MacBeth

_Enter MacBeth_...with a Turtle-y twist. :3

By the way, most of you know this episode, so it's all from the perspective of Don. ^^ Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter MacBeth<strong>_

One thought ran through Donatello's mind when he saw the two blue-toned figures down on the street below: _What the shell?_

He had noticed the light blue beast running through the streets, and if it hadn't been such a _busy_ street he would have already been down there. But, when he caught sight of a darker figure glide down to land in front of the beast, he instantly knew that must have been Bronx, the gargoyle-beast of his new friends...because it was Goliath who had landed.

He watched as Bronx started to run back the way he came. Goliath leapt atop of a few cars Bronx had previously run into, and jumped into the air to glide and follow the dog-like beast. Donatello followed by rooftop, hot on their tails.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here?" was the first thing Goliath demanded when he finally landed in the woods outside of a creepy-looking castle.<p>

"I saw you and Bronx in the city," Don explained. "I wanted to know what was so urgent that you would just land in the middle of a street full of people like that."

Goliath sighed, obviously reluctant to reveal any information, even to friends. "Brooklyn and Lexington have been kidnapped," he snarled. "Bronx was able to escape, and he led me here. This must be where MacBeth is holding them."

Donatello blinked at the name. "Whoa, hold on, _MacBeth?_ That's the name of a play by Shakespeare...I find it a bit hard to believe there's an actual guy out there with that name."

"There is." Goliath glared at the castle. "And he is going to pay for trying to capture members of my clan."

* * *

><p>The plan was simple enough; Goliath and Bronx storm the castle, and once MacBeth was distracted, Donatello could slip in to try and free Lexington and Brooklyn. And, now that he had seen Goliath chase MacBeth away, he was free to move in after Bronx.<p>

"Heel, Bronx, heel!" he hissed after the gargoyle-beast. The blue creature slowed a bit, but still ran through the halls at a quick pace.

He could hear faint growls, snarls, and howls, no doubt belonging to Goliath. They faded, however, as he continued to follow Bronx through the halls. Still, they were loud, and he could hear them.

Unbeknownst to Don, even Brooklyn and Lexington could hear the howls. Lexington commented to Brooklyn, "Bronx must have found Goliath." Brooklyn replied with a sarcastic, "Yeah."

* * *

><p>Don was starting to get tired. How much farther into this maze of a castle would they have to go?<p>

Finally, he heard Bronx slam into something at the bottom of the staircase. He leapt down the last of the stairs to see Bronx straining against the electrocuted bars of a cage, holding an astonished Brooklyn and Lexington. Shuriken already in his hand, Don threw it at what he recognized to be the control grid, which immediately shorted out the electric pulse, and allowing Bronx to burst through the bars. As the gargoyle-beast stepped back, the red and green gargoyles inside the cage stepped out.

"Good boy, Bronx," Brooklyn praised, petting Bronx.

"Thanks to you too, Don," Lexington said, glancing to Don. "Now, let's get out of here."

* * *

><p>Donatello heard the clanking of metal against metal before he saw the battle. He also smelled the smoke before he saw the fire.<p>

"We should hurry," he remarked to his companions. "Who knows what kind of trouble Goliath's gotten himself into with MacBeth."

"Knowing Goliath, probably alot," Brooklyn muttered as the group picked up the pace.

They halted, however, when they came to the weapons room that was on fire. Donatello managed to see MacBeth slip free of his coat and go out another exit, before the flames washed in front of the man.

Goliath growled, and Donatello would've guessed his eyes were glowing, too. But before he could get very far in his chase, Brooklyn called to him: "Goliath!" The large gargoyle saw them, and ran over to them, before the smoke began to fill the whole room.

"Let's move!" Don commanded. "This whole place is going to go up in flames!"

They moved swiftly, dodging the fire probably by sheer luck, managing to get out through the front doors. Then, Don heard the inmistakeable sound of a hovercraft taking off. They all looked up to the sky to see what was probably MacBeth fly off. Then, the castle began to collapse into a pile of flaming rubble.

From beside Don, Goliath finally spoke. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Brooklyn and Lexington carried Bronx, while Goliath (somewhat reluctantly) carried Don by his arms. The Turtle was actually enjoying the flight; he was going to have to work on upgraded versions of the techpacks so he and his brothers could fly with the gargoyles whenever they pleased.<p>

Then, they all heard Broadway's voice, coming from a nearby rooftop: "Goliath!" With him was Hudson, and a human woman Don did not recognize, and hoped wasn't a threat.

Brooklyn and Lexington landed first, putting Bronx onto solid ground. Goliath let go of Don a little before touchdown, so that the larger gargoyle could land in front of them to angrily adress the others.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. Pacing to stand in front of Hudson, he further inquired, "Why are you not guarding our home?"

This raised questions in Donatello's mind. Where, exactly, _was_ their home? He and his brothers had not yet been trusted with that precious information.

"You don't live there anymore." The human woman's voice was obviously a shock to Goliath, as he moved to tower over her.

"What?" he growled.

"I found you a new home."

"How dare you! I told you, that castle _is_ our home!" Don blinked, and made a mental note to self - _never_ get on Goliath's bad side.

"No, Goliath, she's right!" Broadway exclaimed, pushing between the woman and Goliath. "It's suicide to stay there!" That _really_ got Donatello into wondering what was going on. He just watched in silence, however, not wanting to interrupt.

"Lad, they're right you know," Hudson said calmly. "It's just a place of stone and wood. Home is more than that, Goliath. Home is the six of us, wherever we can be together and safe. That's our home."

Goliath began to growl, and then his wings unfurled as he clenched his fists and let out a snarl. The rest of his clan, along with Don and the woman, were obviously shocked.

As he turned to the castle atop the Eyrie building, Hudson spoke again. "Come Goliath. Let's be going."

"Give me one minute," Goliath said, turning back to them, then he took to the skies, toward the Castle Wyvern, which sat on the top of the Eyrie bulding.

"...Is that where you guys live - er, lived?" Don asked, breaking the silence. Hudson nodded.

"Aye, lad," the old gargoyle said. "Castle Wyvern. A man called Xanatos awoke us from a thousand years of stone sleep by bringing the castle atop his tower."

"He tried to use the gargoyles, though, and was put in prison. However, his time is almost up," the woman said, hobbling foward on her crutches. Don vaguely wondered if that was how she had gotten hurt. He had heard about David Xanatos being imprisoned, and the explosions in that castle. "By the way, I'm Elisa Maza, second-class detective for the NYPD."

Donatello blinked at that - friends with a policewoman? Wow. The gargoyles were in good hands, at least. "My name's Donatello Hamato, but just call me Don," he said, bowing. "And before you ask, because I know you will, I'm a mutant Turtle."

Elisa smiled, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, Don."

"Likewise," Don replied, shaking her hand. As he pulled away, he got an idea in his head. "By the way, ever hear of the Second Time Around and it's owner, April O'Neil...?"

* * *

><p>The clocktower of the 23rd precinct was an interesting place for the gargoyles' new home, to say the least. Lexington was looking at the internal mechanisms with Brooklyn. Don almost laughed when the web-winged gargoyle remarked, "I'll, uh...I'll bet I could get this thing working again." He almost laughed even harder when the beaked gargoyle replied, "Why would you want to?"<p>

"It's not so bad," Hudson said, coming over to them. "There's a place right over there for a television."

"OK," Elisa said, "so it's a fixer-uper." At the (almost comical) faces of Broadway and Bronx, she continued, "But a few throw rugs, some flowers...it could be home." She turned to Goliath.

"Yes," the large gargoyle mused, nodding slightly. "As long as we're together...it's home."


	5. The Edge

So this time, we have a bit more...deviation from the original, as my little crossover begins to grow.

Sorry for the wait on this one, guys. I've been trying to work on essays due back when school starts...and I've been working. Yeah...that's summer for ya!

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Edge<strong>_

Raphael held back a chuckle at the sight of Elisa struggling to carry a TV up the ladder into the clock tower. He would have gone to help, but Broadway beat him to it: "Need some help, Elisa?"

"Thanks Broadway," the detective replied as the gargoyle took the TV in one hand and pulled her up the last few steps with the other. But the red-masked Turtle could just barely restrain his laughter as Elisa jumped back from a speeding little toy car. "Hey!"

"Neat toy, huh?" Lexington asked as Elisa noticed the web-wing. Elisa let out a little chuckle.

"Yeah, slow it down or I'll give you a ticket," she joked. Then she looked around. "Where's Goliath?"

"Down in the library," Broadway told her. Then he asked, "You staying for breakfast?" Raphael still wasn't used to how they reffered to dinner as breakfast, but it was _their_ first meal of the day...er, night...

"No thanks, I gotta get back to work soon," Elisa replied as she started back down the ladder.

"Hey, if you see April, tell her ta stop erasing all the games I record on her TV!" Raph shouted to her. He got a sarcastic, "Yeah, yeah," in response, though the Turtle couldn't help grinning a bit as he began to show the gargoyles how the TV _should_ be set up.

* * *

><p>"Goliath." Leonardo shook his head as he heard Elisa Maza's call ring out through the library. Her footsteps were loud and clear. <em>Yeesh, so much for stealthy cop<em>, he thought. The human policewoman was a good friend to the gargoyles, and had made fast friends with their own long-time human friend April O'Niel. Leonardo was beginning to build up a respect for the woman - she risked her life to protect her city, just as they did.

Elisa walked around the corner, smiling at Goliath, who was sitting on a stool in the middle of the bookshelves. Leonardo himself was sitting _on_ a bookshelf, and smiled down at the cop. "Hi Elisa," he greeted.

Elisa, having not noticed him before, blinked up at him in surprise. "Oh, hey, Leo." Leo nodded, and then resumed his own reading, as Elisa turned to Goliath. "What are you reading?"

"Dostoevsky," Goliath replied.

"Yeah? Who's it by?" Leonardo had to supress a chuckle as Goliath stared at her in shock. Then she grinned and shrugged. "Kidding."

Goliath cracked a small smile, but it faded as he looked out the window at the looming skyscraper on the skyline. Elisa turned to look at it, too, thought Leo didn't get it. He recognized it as the Eyrie building, with Castle Wyvern moved atop of it...

"What's wrong?" Elisa asked the gargoyle.

"Xanatos," Goliath growled. Leonardo blinked, a bit shocked. David Xanatos...why was he a problem? As he continued listening to Goliath, he got his answer: "He stole our ansectral home, drove us into hiding here...and I was unable to prevent it."

That's when Leonardo realized - David Xanatos had purchased Castle Wyvern to try and use the gargoyles...but when they wouldn't have it, they got into a fight! That would explain why there had been news about Xanatos getting locked away...and once he got out, the gargoyles must have fleed from the castle, fearing his wrath!

"Hey, look on the bright side," Elisa said, trying to lighten the mood. "You didn't lose a castle, you gained a library."

"This is his century, hs world," Goliath growled, beginning to bend his book. "We are outcasts, strangers in a strange land. We have no hope of regaining what is rightfully ours."

Elisa sighed. "You're right, it's a lousy deal," she admitted, "but Xanatos won't stay on top forever. What goes around comes around, Goliath. I wouldn't want his karma."

"She's right, Goliath," Leonardo commented, lightly landing on his feet as he jumped off the bookshelf. "My brothers and I have gone through the same thing more than once. Our first two homes were destroyed by some of our enemies...but eventually, we defeated them. Now we've got a great new home and less threats coming at us."

Goliath sighed, giving a slight nod to Leonardo. But still, as he looked back at the Eyrie building, he heard the blue gargoyle mutter, "If only I could make him feel what I feel now..."

* * *

><p>"Well, it's not a six-foot screen, but I hope it'll do," Elisa commented as the gargoyles gathered around the little TV.<p>

"It's a grand gift, lass, thank you," Hudson told her. Raphael had to smile. The human woman had probably gone through quite a bit to haul the thing up to the clock tower.

As Brooklyn flipped through the channels, Raph heard Mikey and Donny come in through the clock tower door. But they were almost soon forgotten as Goliath growled, "Xanatos!" upon reaching the news channel. Brooklyn's tail lashed as he turned the volume back on.

"_This is Travis Marshall at the Museum of Modern Art, where one of the world's most priceless jewels, the Eye of Odin, is being donated by David Xanatos from his private collection."_

All four Turtles could sense the hostility in the air at the mention of the billionaire. Leonardo took the other three aside to quickly and quietly explain their situation regarding the man as the news report continued.

_"This is quite a philanthropic act, Mr. Xanatos. The Eye is worth millions. To just give it away..."_

_"Well, Travis, I just felt that the Eye should be shared with the world instead of locked away in my personal museum."_ Goliath was beginning to growl dangerously as the man continued, _"Besides, it's a great tax write-off."_

_"A grand gesture from a man known for grand gestures,"_ Travis commented to the camera, _"A few more donations like this and New York might even forget about your prison record."_

_"I learned my lesson. I paid my debt to society. All I'm trying to do now is do something to benefit others. Would you rather I kept the eye?"_

Goliath snapped. His eyes glowed white with fury as he let out a growl. Hudson, Elisa, the Trio (Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington; the Turtles had noticed the brotherly bond, and made up the nickname for the group), along with the Turtles, looked on in shock as Goliath ran out of the clocktower, tail lashing the entire time.

* * *

><p>Donatello and Raphael had just barely climbed back up onto the balcony of the clocktower when the door burst open. Goliath rushed out and jumped off the roof, soaring away and paying them no attention. Following him were Broadway, Lexington, and Brooklyn. The Trio merely glanced at them and then followed Goliath, though Brooklyn offered an apoligetic shrug.<p>

Elisa was next to follow, though as she didn't have wings, she merely stood and watched as her friends glided away. Donatello took advantage of this to ask her: "Elisa, what's going on?"

"You heard about those robberies?" The two Turtles nodded, and so Elisa continued, "They're going to confront Xanatos about it." And with that, she ran back inside, presumably down to her car to chase after the gargoyles.

Raphael and Donatello shrugged. "Wanna chase them too?" Don asked, already knowing the answer.

He wasn't disappointed as Raph grinned, ready to scale back down the side of the building to where he had parked his motorcycle. "Let's do it!"

* * *

><p>They were only about halfway up the side of the Eyrie building, but they had still managed to beat the gargoyles there. Donatello and Raphael could see first Goliath, then Lexington, Broadway, and Brooklyn land somewhere atop the castle. The sight only made the slightly tired Turtles push themselves harder up the side of the building.<p>

They could tell some conversation was going on with Goliath and Xanatos, but they couldn't tell what it was about. Down on the streets, they could see Elisa's car pull up, and they saw her get out and run in, followed by a human unfamiliar to them - most likely her new partner, Matt Bluestone.

They had just managed to jump over the top of the very last wall and onto solid ground, convieniently next to the Trio, and therefore got to witness Goliath snarl at Xanatos before smashing a light post and running back toward them. The gargoyle leader seemed to take little heed of the two Turtles. He simply commanded, "Let's go!"

"Do we get lifts?" Raph asked Brooklyn. There was a slight smirk as the red gargoyle grabbed him and took off, followed by Lexington and Broadway, who was carrying Don. They could just hear Xanatos shout after them, "You're taking this much to personally!"

As they continued to fly, Brooklyn finally mustered up the courage to say something. "So what happened?" he asked Goliath. "Did Xanatos admit he was-?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Goliath interrupted before Brooklyn could finish. There was a second of silence...before a red laser shot at Goliath, causing the gargoyle to plummet toward the rooftops below.

"Goliath!" Lexington exclaimed. Raph allowed himself to sigh in relief when he saw the gargoyle stop his fall thanks to a satellite dish, but when shots began to fire at them, the Trio scattered. "It's the Steel Clan!" the web-wing growled.

The robotic gargoyles continued to fire, causing the flight to become quite bumpy. As Broadway dodged the attacks, Don shouted at the gargoyle to just "drop me over a rooftop already!" Meanwhile, Raph was simply _not_ having a fun time.

"Ah, give it a rest, you glorified flying toasters!" Raph shouted at them as Brooklyn dodged more lasers. The Turtle managed to get a grip on a shurkien, and threw it at one of the robots, but it missed by an inch. At this point, Brooklyn, let Raph go, though the Turtle managed to land on his feet on the rooftop below.

The two Turtles watched, now, as Goliath just managed to jump out of the way of a laserbeam. "We've beaten them before," the gargoyle proclaimed as he watched the robots. "We can do it again!"

True to ninja form, Donatello and Raphael simply slipped into the shadows of the building, waiting for a good moment to attack. Meanwhile, they watched their friends battle it out.

One of the Steel Clan managed to hit Broadway, causing the gargoyle to plummet toward them. He landed alright, save for a brick of a chimney concking him on the head. Still, Lexington had dove after him, resulting in the smaller gargoyle getting shot as well. The web-wing was knocked off to the side of the building, and had it not been for some rails, he would have fallen off. Broadway ran over to pull him out of harm's way.

Brooklyn attempted to pull the head off of one of them - or something like that - after he landed atop of one, but was shocked - literally - as the robot emitted an electric force around its body, causing Brooklyn to lose his grip and be flung toward the awaiting Goliath as the robot spun. By then, Broadway had rushed over, and they were all leaning against the brick chimney...until the robots flew through it, causing it to collapse on the four gargoyles, one of which was still unconcious.

But they were all in for a surprise when the robots stopped, hovering a few yards away. Raph narrowed his eyes. "What are they doing?" he asked Don, who shrugged in reply.

By this point in time, Lexington had begun to come to. "Hey, we're still alive. How come?" they managed to hear the gargoyle remark.

"It's like they're waiting for something," Brooklyn commented.

"No doubt for us to lead them back to our new sanctuary," Goliath grumbled as all four gargoyles managed to push their way out of the fallen bricks.

"But why?" Broadway asked. "Why not just kill us?"

"Because Xanatos does not want to destroy us," Goliath replied. "He wants to dominate us!"

"He's probably controlling them by radio like that toy car I have," Lexington commented.

"Yeah, so what do we do now?" Brooklyn asked as sirens began to get louder and louder.

"We cannot lead them back to the clocktower, and we cannot stay hear," Goliath said. "It's not long till sunrise."

"We can tackle them again!" Broadway said enthusiastically. Brooklyn scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that again," he replied sarcastically as he rubbed his head. "They're a lot tougher than the last batch we fought!"

"Yeah, especially...that one," Lexington added, pointing to the one robot that was red, not sliver.

"We must continue the fight someplace isolated," Goliath told them. "Come!"

"But Raph and Don-" Brooklyn began, before a blur of red and green darted in front of them and the robotic gargoyles. A fist went down, uncurling as it did so, and a screen of smoke flashed up between the robots and the gargoyles.

"Are right beside you," Don replied, throwing a shuriken through the light smoke. There was a grinding noise, indicating one had been scraped.

Goliath nodded, and they all took off, Brooklyn carrying Raph and Broadway carrying Don again. They could hear rockets ignite, indicating the Steel Clan was following them.

They flew through the searchlights, hopefully not getting spotted, as they continued on their flight.

"Where are we going Goliath?" Lexington asked as they began to pass over water.

"There," Goliath said simply, pointing to the Statue of Liberty.

They landed on her hair, Raph and Don being set down again. The robots were not too far behind.

"You take the others," Goliath commanded. "I'll handle the leader." They nodded their consent to the plan, moments before a laser was fired at them. They all dodged out of the way, and set to work.

Broadway easily led one to its demise against Lady Liberty's book. It smashed with a beautiful banging noise, and gave Donatello an idea.

"Raph, here," Don said, giving Raph his remaining shurikens. Raph cocked an eyebrow.

"What are you planning, Brainiac?" the hothead inquired.

"You'll see," Don said simply. "Now, go up to the torch, and I'm going to the book. Once there, just throw the shurikens at the other one." Raph opened his mouth to object, but Don butted in with, "Just trust me!"

As Raph waited for Don to do whatever it was the brainiac had in mind, he watched to see how Goliath was progressing.

The robot had swatted at him, causing Goliath to extend his wings and lift higher up into the air. The robot turned to look just as Goliath dove onto the robot's back, pulling him down. However, the robot used it's rockets to blast off again, taking Goliath for a ride.

Raph turned his attention back to the others. Brooklyn and Lexington were zig-zagging along, obviously trying to confuse the robot. Raph frowned as he got his volley of shurikens ready. As Lexington veered to one side just a little...the red-masked Turtle threw.

A few missed, but luckily did not hit Brooklyn or Lexington. The ones that managed to strike the robot caused it to falter and lose altitude for a moment. Lex took advantage of this, and flew down onto it, latching on to the robot. But, like Brooklyn, Lexington got shocked.

Back on Lady Liberty's book, Donatello smirked as he finished whatever it was he had set to doing just as Broadway landed next to him.

"Awesome," Don said, half to himself. "Broadway, just throw this at the robot!" Don instructed, handing him the arm.

An eyeridge was raised, but Broadway took it anyway. "Hope you know what you're doing," he mumbled as he took flight. He heaved the arm at the robot...and it penetrated, causing Lex to be thrown off. Whatever Don had done to modify it caused the arm to suddenly fire through the rest of the robot's back, and as the gargoyles landed on Lady Liberty's torch, near Raph, they got to watch it's jets malfunction, and watched the satisfying explosion as it hit the ground. As he leapt up onto the torch, Don high-fived Raph.

Meanwhile, Goliath was still battling with the red robot. They had crashed onto Lady Liberty's hair again, though Goliath had managed to take out it's gun. Goliath had just been pushed back from a blow, when Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington landed around the robot. Raphael and Donatello were perched on top of two of the spikes of the crown, weapons at the ready, effectively surrounding the robot.

"Give it up, dumpster-face," Brooklyn taunted as the gargoyles began to close in. The robot backed up to the edge, on between the two spikes on which Raph and Don perched. Raph gave a low growl at it, twirling his sais, while Don threateningly twirled his bo-staff.

The robot glanced at its fallen comrades, then at it's destroyed gun, then back at the advancing gargoyles and Turtles. Suddenly, it's wings spread out, and it's rockets ignited. It blasted off, leaving the gargoyles and the Turtles stunned. Raph was the first to come out of it, and he threw his one remaining shuriken at it. It sliced off the end of the tail, but did no more damage. Goliath looked ready to pursue it, but then the whirring rotors of a helicopter could be heard. "We must go," Goliath said, "quickly."

* * *

><p>"The public's been reassured that the gargoyles were robots," Elisa told Goliath as dawn began to break. "Who created them is still under investigation."<p>

"Xanatos tried to force us to reveal our new home," Goliath explained. Then he smiled. "We defeated him, and if we can do it once we can do it again."

"And we will, together," Elisa promised, just as the sun rose.

* * *

><p>"Don't tell me robots. What I saw through those binoculars was not robot, it was a flesh and blood...something."<p>

"Look, it was dark," Captain Chavez countered. "They were a long way off."

"Ah, you believe whatever you want," Matt Bluestone said crossly. "But I know what I saw...and I'm gonna find out what it was."

* * *

><p>"It would appear that your plan to locate the gargoyles' new hiding place has gone awry, sir," Owen Brunette noted as Xanatos took off the robotic helmet of his red exosuit.<p>

"Not really," Xanatos commented. "I have the Eye of Odin back in my private collection and the city owes me a favor for donating it; I successfully tested this prototype battlesuit exoframe; and the most important thing..."

"Yes, sir?"

"I was a little worried that I might be getting soft...but I was able to stand up to Goliath, the greatest warrior alive." With a slight smirk, he concluded, "I'd say I've still got the edge."


	6. Long Way to Morning

This one doesn't focus on the main action at all. Nope, not really much Demona, Goliath, or Hudson - sorry, folks! However, we do have Brooklyn and Bronx at the clocktower, who are visited by Raphael and Leonardo, and we have Broadway, Lexington, and Elisa headed to Elisa's apartment, on the way to which they run into Michelangelo, Donatello, and April. Oh yes, this should be so fun... wait, what's that? A Go Fish tournament, along with a video game marathon? This shall be quite fun indeed...!

Oh, and we are to assume that the events that happened in the _original_ Temptation happened at...some point in time we are unaware of. Let's just say...Brooklyn and Demona had a nice little chat, Demona got the Gimorum, spell was cast, yadda yadda yadda...so Brooklyn does still have his hatred of Demona. Yup!

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Long Way to Morning<strong>_

Brooklyn grumbled to himself as he paced around the clocktower. Bronx was watching him in concern, but the blue gargoyle-beast had enough sense to stay where he was and not interrupt Brooklyn.

"It's just not fair," the brick-red gargoyle was saying. "Why do _I_ have to stay and guard the tower. There's nothing good on TV right now, and therefore it just gets so _boring!_ I should've gone with Goliath! I could've taught Demona her lesson..."

The gargoyle was so immersed in mumbling to himself, he never even noticed the balcony door open to reveal the red-masked and blue-masked Turtles, Raphael and Leonardo. Of course, the brothers were surprised to see only Brooklyn and Bronx home, with Brooklyn pacing and taking to himself.

Leonardo shot a glare at Raphael. "You have the weirdest friends," he remarked. "First bonehead Casey, then hot-tempered Angel, and now a crazy gargoyle."

"Hey, Don's friends with an alien queen, a robot professor, _Chaplin_, and a crocodile who's really smart but who can get very angry," Raph pointed out. "And Mikey's got all those superhero pals - their pretty weird at times too. Oh, and _you,_ Leo, you're friends with _Karai_, and interdimensional warriors, and the _insane timestress Renet!_"

"Hey, we're all friends with her," Leo shot back as they made their way down the stairs to the still pacing Brooklyn. "And lighten up, and go see what's wrong with your buddy."

Raphael grumbled something incoherant in response, but made his way closer to Brooklyn anyway, watching his friend with concern. "Hey, Brooklyn, you OK? Yo, Beak-Boy, snap out of it!"

"Huh?" Brooklyn blinked, as if just realizing they were there. "Oh, uh, hey Raph, hey Leo," he said, looking a bit sheepish. "I, uh...I was talking to myself, wasn't I?"

Leo opened his mouth to answer, but Raph beat him to it. "Oh yeah, big time." Brooklyn meekly grinned, and Leo supressed the urge to facepalm as Bronx made his way over to them. The blue-banded Turtle sighed, patting Bronx on the head absentmindedly.

"So, Brooklyn...what's going on? Where are the others?"

"Have a seat," Brooklyn said, gesturing to the few chairs they had. "I'll start from the beginning, just so you know _everything_..."

* * *

><p>The red-haired April gasped in slight shock as the shadows of two gargoyles flew over their heads. Donatello and Michelangelo could just keep themselves from laughing as she recognized her new friend, Elisa Maza, in the grasp of one of them.<p>

"Th-those are the gargoyles?" she asked in slight disbelief. Donatello managed to choke back his laugh and nodded, a smile still on his face. April frowned slightly at this, and at the still chuckling Mikey, but went on.

"I know Elisa told me about them, but I haven't actually _met_ them yet and...wow," she finished, watching the gargoyles overhead.

"Yeah, that was our initial reaction too," Don said, laughter completely gone now. He grinned suddenly, and Mikey, who had also ceased laughing, looked at him with a raised eyeridge.

"Bro, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking...let's follow them!" Without waiting for either of them to respond, Don took after the gargoyles, who he recognized to be Lexington and Broadway.

Michelangelo simply shrugged to April. "Eh, why not?" he asked rhetorically. "Wait up, bro!"

April sighed. "Sometimes I question why I hang around you guys," she muttered to herself as she sprinted to catch up to the ninja Turtles. "Hey, wait for me!"

* * *

><p>"Thanks again for the lift, guys," Elisa was saying. "But really, I'll be fine!"<p>

"No can do, Elisa," Broadway said. "Goliath told us to stay with you until sunrise, so you're out of luck."

Elisa sighed as she opened a window to get inside her apartment. "Well, alright...but-!"

"Hey, Elisa!" All three heads turned at the call, and they were slightly surprised to find Don, Mikey, and a red-haired woman who could only be April O'Neil.

"Hey Don, Mikey, April," Elisa said with a smile, confirming the fact. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We were out on patrol and saw you guys fly by," April explained as she approached the gargoyles. "Oh, um, I'm April, by the way. You must be some of the gargoyles Elisa's told me about."

"Yeah, I'm Lexington, and this is Broadway," Lexington greeted with a nod. April smiled, taking their hands without hesitation.

"So...what's going on? Is there, like, some sort of mission we missed or something?" Mikey asked suddenly. Elisa rolled her eyes at the over-excitement.

"No...Demona tried to poison me, but luckily the dart full of poison hit my badge. Goliath and Hudson went to confront her; Brooklyn and Bronx stayed at the clocktower; and Lexington and Broadway were told to escort me home," Elisa explained.

April nodded, having already been told of Demona by Elisa, but Don and Mikey were confused. "Uh...who's Demona?" Don inquired.

"Is she some kind of demon or something?" Mikey asked. "Cuz, you know _Demon-_a!"

Lexington facepalmed as Don shook his head, while Broadway began to explain...

* * *

><p>"Got any threes?"<p>

"Go fish."

"Ha! I got my three anyway!"

"It's still my turn though!"

"Rats!"

Leonardo sighed as he watched Brooklyn and Raphael play Go Fish. It was kind of funny, actually, watching the two red-themed hot-heads duke it out for the right to be called King of Go Fish. He began to stroke Bronx again, who was sitting next to the trying-to-meditate Turtle. Of course, it was hard to meditate while Brooklyn and Raph shouted at each other, or cheered in victory...though it made for a good laugh, too.

Finally, Leo got bored, and stood up. Bronx watched as the Turtle walked over to where Brooklyn and Raph were laying down on the floor, glaring at each other behind their hands of cards. They looked up upon Leo's appearance.

But Leo wasn't frowning or glaring, or anything of the sort. No, the Turtle was smirking, a confident look in his eyes.

"Deal me in, guys," Leo said, taking a seat on the floor. "Time to show you who's the _master_ at Go Fish."

* * *

><p>Elisa and April sighed, though they had smiles on their faces, as they sipped their coffee and watched the four non-humans. Elisa slightly regretted letting Mikey run down to the Lair, which he claimed wasn't too far, to bring his gamestation up for them all to play. He had instantly gotten Lexington and Broadway hooked on it.<p>

"Dodge left! Blast right! NOOO, DONNY, YOU GOT EATEN BY THE ZOMBIES!" April chuckled as Elisa shook her head. She hoped Mikey wasn't being _too_ loud - she didn't want her neighbor's getting annoyed.

"It's OK, Mikey, I have quite a few lives left," Don reassured Mikey as his character magically reappeared. Mikey uttered a small, "Oh," as the boys kept playing.

Elisa was surprised when her microwave dinged. She turned to April questioningly, but the redhead merely shrugged. Lexington answered their unspoken question.

"Hey, is that the popcorn? Uh, could you guys get that for us? We're kinda bus- AAH, LOOK OUT, THE ZOMBIES ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU GUYS!"

Elisa couldn't help another sigh. It seemed like it was going to be a _long_ way until morning.

* * *

><p>Leo was correct when he said he was a master at Go Fish. After successfully defeating both Brooklyn and Raphael at least ten times, it seemed no one could beat him.<p>

It was almost sunrise, Brooklyn had noted, which meant this would be his last game...at least for tonight. He glared at Leonardo over his cards, Raphael doing the same thing at the same time. Leo seemed to notice two pairs of eyes glaring furiously at him, and behind his cards he frowned. He only had two cards left, and though Brooklyn and Raph both had three each, either one could make a comeback.

Leo's eyes darted between his cards: a queen of hearts, and a three of clubs. Raph already had a pair of queens: the queen of spades and the queen of clubs, meaning the queen of diamonds was still out there. A mere two cards remained in the deck, so the queen could possibly be there...but if not, who had it, Raph or Brooklyn? He looked down at his own collection of cards. The three of spades and the three of hearts were amongst his vast collection, so that left him at a crossroads. Who to ask, and what to ask for...?

Brooklyn was actually contemplating his next move, too. He had the three of diamonds and the seven of hearts, along with the ten of spades. The ten of diamonds and the ten of hearts had been claimed by Raph, and the three of hearts and three of spades were with Leo. So, upon his turn, what would _he_ ask for...?

Raph was smirking at his own hand. A queen of diamonds, an ace of clubs, and a ten of clubs. If he had to guess, he'd say that the missing ace of diamonds was in the remaining deck - Leo had one, the queen he'd wager, and Brooklyn therefore had the ten. He smirked confidently, but then frowned. If his guesses were wrong...

Finally, Leo spoke up. "Raph," he said, obviously nervous. "Do you...have any threes?"

"...GO FISH!"

Leo mentally cursed as he picked up a card. He blanched at it. It was a seven of spades - that didn't help him at all!

Brooklyn's turn. He was so obviously nervous, but that was to be expected. One card left, one card left...

"Raph."

Oh snap.

"Do you...have any sevens?"

"Nope! Go fish!"

Brooklyn grumbled, picking up the last card to find the ace of diamonds. Now it was all a big guessing game - one Raph hoped to win.

"Leo - queens?"

Leo scowled as he handed over his queen. Raph smirked as he put it in his collection. He then turned to Brooklyn, the red gargoyle eyeing him nervously. "Brooklyn - tens?"

Brooklyn's eyes went wide, but he wordlessly handed the card over. Raph smirked - just the one card left.

"Finally...Brooklyn, any aces?"

Brooklyn was now glaring at his friend, handing the card over with a grunt. As Raph put the cards into his collection, he leapt up. "WOOHOO! VICTORY! EAT THAT, LEO!"

Leo was shooting daggers at his brother as he put his three and seven down. Brooklyn, too, put down his three and seven, though he had calmed down, and was actually smirking. "Well, Leo, no offense or anything, but at least _Raph_ won, and not you...again."

Leo had to grin slightly at this. "Yeah, yeah...let him have his victory now, I suppose."

Bronx barked, cutting into their conversation. Brooklyn sighed, noticing the lightening of the sky. "Well, I gotta go...you know, time to sleep and everything."

"Of course," Leo said, standing and giving a short bow. Raph had noticed this, and grinned at his friend.

"Better luck next time, Brooklyn," he said to the red gargoyle. Brooklyn smirked at him.

"Trust me, I plan to kick your butts next time," Brooklyn replied with a grin.

* * *

><p>If the sun was a human, Lex might have strangled it by now. He actually hated the stupid thing. Humans could sleep whenever they wanted - why couldn't gargoyles do the same thing?<p>

"It's almost sunrise - we should head back to the clocktower," Broadway said, putting the game on pause. Mikey frowned.

"Aww, that's right, I forgot about that," he muttered. As he saved the game and turned the system off, he continued, "We'll just have to finish it some other time!"

Lexington grinned at that. "Count on it."

April and Elisa grinned from where they were sitting. As the two gargoyles departed, both women stood up and walked over toward the Turtles.

"Well, I think I'm gonna turn in," Elisa said with a yawn. "I told Captain Chavez I was feeling a little sick, so she told me to take the day off and just come in tonight if I feel better."

April chuckled. "Lucky. I have to go work my store - thank goodness it's Sunday, I only work until one today. Then I'm taking a long, long nap."

Donatello, however, groaned. "We're gonna suffer the wrath of Master Splinter's early morning training sessions," he mumbled. "Why did I agree to this?"

"Cuz you like having fun, Donny!" Mikey said, putting an arm around his tired brother's shoulder. Don just glared at him.

"Have you been drinking my coffee again...?"

"No, but I'll make you some when we get home," Mikey promised. Don shrugged, and proceeded to yawn. April yanwed at this point, and then Elisa yawned again. Mikey just stared at them all.

"Wow, are yawns contagious or something?"

"First, I'm proud you know what contagious means," April muttered. "And second, no, we're just _tired_, Mike. How are you still so awake?"

Mikey giggled. "Uh, I might have a secret stash of candy..."

Don facepalmed as the female humans rolled their eyes. "Good luck with them on your way home," Elisa said, waving to them as she went off to her bed to sleep.

"Gee, thanks," April replied sarcastically. "Come on, guys - I've got a shop to run and you've got your training. Let's go already before we all fall over."

* * *

><p>Lexington and Broadway had just landed when Brooklyn and Bronx came out, followed by Leo and Raph. A light storm was passing by, and the clouds covered up the sun, so they weren't really sure if it was even out yet.<p>

"Where's Goliath and Hudson?" Lex asked Brooklyn. "I thought they'd be back by now..."

"Maybe Demona gave them some trouble," Brooklyn suggested. "I dunno...all I know is that I need to practice at Go Fish."

"Go Fish is a guessing game, and a game of luck and skill," Lex said. "You can't really practice for it."

"So was it just coincidence Leo won over ten times in a row?"

"Wow...maybe you can practice at it."

Leo and Raph were silently chuckling at their conversation, until Leo finally broke in. "Well, it was good to see you guys again, but we've gotta go. Master Splinter's gonna have our heads..."

"See ya, guys!" Raph added as they began to scale down a rope they had used to get up the previous night, down to where Raph's motorcycle waited.

The gargoyles waved goodbye before turning back out to overlook the city. The sun had just managed to peek over the clouds, and the four were encased in stone. Elsewhere, in a dreary old graveyard, Demona, Goliath, and Hudson were encased in stone as well, ready to recommence their battle again come nightfall.


	7. Her Brother's Keeper

Would've been up sooner, but Irene swept through and I lost power early Sunday morning. Didn't get it back till Friday. But it's always fun being able to do these...

ANYWAY - One of my alltime favorites is up! I just loved this episode, especially the part where Lex tries to fly the helicopter at first and...yeah. So, again, there will be TMNT-goodness in this one! (Raph and Mike decided to tag along on 'Derek patrol' and go for the helicopter ride, hehe).

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Her Brother's Keeper<strong>_

Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo exchanged amused glances as they watched Lexington play his helicopter simulation game. Leo shook his head slightly as the argument began - just like Don, Raph, and Mikey sometimes at home.

"C'mon, give it up, it's my turn!" Brooklyn said.

"Hang on," Lexington replied, eyes still glued to the screen.

"You've been hogging that game since we woke up!" the red gargoyle complained.

"That's cuz I'm the only one who knows how to work it," Lex shot back.

"The others would know how to work it, too, if Lex would give them a turn," Don whispered to his brothers, and he, Leo, and Mikey broke into silent giggles while Raph just shook his head.

"Why do you wanna know how to fly a helicopter?" Broadway questioned, coming over from the kitchen with a sandwich. "You got wings," he added, taking a bite.

"Oh, you wouldn't understand," Lex said simply as Broadway took another bite.

"Right, I'm just a big dumb gargoyle with his brains in his stomach," the light blue gargoyle said sarcastically. This caused the Turtles to lapse into more silent giggles, especially when Brooklyn remarked, "Couldn't've said it better."

"That's enough," Goliath said, causing the Turtles to stop laughing and look over at the gargoyle. As he walked over from where he had been leaning against the wall, watching the whole thing with Hudson, he added, "You are warriors and rookery brothers. Elisa did not give you this game so you could fight over it like children."

"Sorry," Broadway muttered. "Guess I'm a little worried about Elisa... If cops were meant to fly, they'd have wings," he added, referring to the fact that Elisa had gone on a helicopter patrol with her brother Derek. The Turtles simply looked at each other and shrugged. They didn't realize what a night they'd missed.

* * *

><p>Raphael and Michelangelo hadn't expected anything fun to happen on their patrol the night after Elisa and Derek's run-in with Xanatos and the would-be assassins (Mikey thought he heard something about the Pack being a part of it, though). Nowadays, nothing REALLY exciting ever happened...save for when they met up with the gargoyles. And, by some strange coincidence, they did.<p>

Lexington was currently arguing with Broadway about...something. The two barely even noticed them as they landed on the roof (though Brooklyn, who was watching Castle Wyvern atop the Eyrie building, gave them a quick nod before going back to watch duty).

"I can't see how we're doing any good here," Lex was saying. "We should be looking for Jackal and Hyena!" Raph and Mikey exchanged a quick glance, both assuming Jackal and Hyena were two of the stars of The Pack, TV-show heroes who had gone bad.

"Oh, give it a rest," Broadway retorted. "It's more important now that we help Elisa."

"You wouldn't know what's important if it bit you on the-!"

"Knock it off, you two," Brooklyn interrupted. "Look."

The red gargoyle was watching a helicopter lift off from Castle Wyvern, when all of a sudden, another helicopter flew by, firing rounds at the Xanatos chopper. Mikey instantly recognized the symbol - The Pack.

"Let's go!" Brooklyn ordered. Without getting their say regarding the matter, Mikey was grabbed by Broadway as Brooklyn picked up Raph, and the gargoyles leapt off the building, flying after the choppers.

The Pack's chopper kept firing rounds at the Xanatos chopper, but they managed to dodge. Mikey noticed a few rounds shatter windows, and hoped anyone inside was OK.

All of a sudden, a missile shot out of the Pack's chopper, and though Xanatos's chopper managed to dodge it, they were still spiraling out of control. As it was brought back under control, Xanatos appeared, hanging on to the chopper's open door as he fired a laser gun at the Pack. Due to reflective armor, however, the lasers simply bounced off.

That was when Mikey and Broadway landed on the chopper.

Mikey, always prepared, had already gotten his spikes ready, and latched onto the side as Broadway, by sheer strength, managed to tilt the helicopter, just as Hyena fired another missle. Because of the tilt, however, it missed Xanatos (and Derek) by a mile.

With a grunt, Broadway broke open the glass covering on the copter. Hyena, though slightly shocked, readied herself to attack, but a surprise kick from behind, courtesy of Mikey, caused her to fly out of the chopper - though thankfully she had a parachute. Mikey wouldn't have forgiven himself if she didn't have one.

Jackal was outraged at this, and as Brooklyn and Raph landed, pulled out a gun, despite the Turtles and gargoyles surrounding him. As Lex swooped in, however, he grabbed the gun and dented it, before throwing the man out of the pilot's seat and sending him plummeting dowm (though he had a parachute, too).

By this time, the Xanatos chopper was long gone, and Lexington took the pilot's seat. Mikey and Broadway gripped one side of the chair, while Raph and Brooklyn gripped the other side, all watching Lexington as the smallest gargoyle examined the controls.

"You sure you can fly this?" Broadway asked, concern in his voice.

"Hey, it's just like the simulator game back at the tower," Lexington responded.

Raph snorted at that as Brooklyn sarcastically remarked, "Famous last words."

As Lexington began to attempt to fly the copter, they suddenly went into a spiraling nosedive, straight for the busy streets below. Everyone held on to the chair and anything else they could grip as tightly as possible, Mikey screaming, "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIEEEE!" as Lexington pulled hard on the controls.

As Raph shouted at Mikey to shut up, Lexington admitted, "Maybe not quite the same."

"I thought you said you could fly this thing!" Brooklyn accused as they continued downward.

"If you think you can do better, now's the time!" Lex retorted as he struggled with the controls.

"Where's Donny when you need him?" Mikey asked the air. Raph would've facepalmed if he wasn't busy hanging on for dear life.

"Come on, Lex, focus!" the hot-headed Turtle commanded.

"Feel the air currents," Broadway suddenly suggested. "Use 'em, just like you do with your wings!"

"Yeah, use The Force, Lex!" Brooklyn added. Raph couldn't tell if the brick-colored gargoyle was sarcastic or not.

But Lex pulled up hard on the controls, and right before they all became street-pizza, they leveled off, before zig-zagging around, barely five feet above traffic. As they came to an intersection where a truck was passing, the five of them screamed as Lex just managed to pull the chopper up over it. They turned, barely missing various buildings. Horns honked, cars swerved, and people ran for their lives as finally, Lex picked a nice, quiet alley for them to crash in.

As the helicopter came to a stop, Brooklyn, Broadway, Raph, and Mikey were all violently ejected from the chopper. Raph, thankfully, landed on his shell, and managed to scoot out of the way of oncoming Mikey, who landed on his stomach. Brooklyn landed on him, effectively squashing him to the ground, but as the red gargoyle made to get up, Broadway fell on top of him.

"Smooth, real smooth," Brooklyn muttered sarcastically.

"Why am _I ALWAYS_ on the bottom?" Mikey demanded, glaring up at the two gargoyles while Raph snickered slightly to himself. As Lexington pulled himself out of the smoking chopper, the gargoyle remarked, "Hey, any landing you can walk away from..."

Lex leapt out of the destroyed helicopter and stood next to Mikey, Raph, Brooklyn, and Broadway. As they looked at the chopper, Brooklyn sarcastically asked, "What do we do with it now, use it as a planter?"

"...Maybe I can get it running again," Lex said eagerly.

"I'm sure Donny'd love ta help ya with it," Raph added. Lex shot him a look - Raph couldn't tell if it was a smile or a glare, since Mikey partially blocked his view of the green gargoyle - before turning back to the chopper.

"Well, let's hide it for now, before the sun rises."

* * *

><p>Back at the clock tower, Lexington was telling Goliath, Leo, and Don about the helicopter.<p>

"I think I can have it airborne by tomorrow night," Lex was saying.

"Why would you want to?" Broadway demanded. "What do we need with a helicopter?"

"As long as Derek's flying Xanatos's chopper we might need one just to keep up," Elisa pointed out.

"I'll take over surveillance of Derek and Xanatos tomorrow night," Goliath said. Noticing Leo's smirk as he crossed his arms, Goliath added, "Leonardo will be joining me. You six-" Goliath turned to Lex, Don, Raph, Brooklyn, Mikey, and Broadway - "get the Pack's helicopter working."

"Don't worry," Lex said smugly as Don smirked. "We'll tell you what has to be done."

Raph rolled his eyes as Brooklyn shot daggers at Lex. "Oh yeah?" the red gargoyle asked. "You and what Starfleet?"

"Uuh-"

"Shut up Mikey," Raph interrupted, not even letting Mikey start his thought. The orange banded Turtle stuck his tounge out at his red-banded brother as the Turtles followed the Trio, Hudson, and Bronx outside, ready to go home.

* * *

><p>When Leo had arrived, Don, Mikey, Raph, and the Trio knew something was up. Leo quickly explained the situation as he began to help the six put the finishing touches on the helicopter, which was looking as though it was brand-new.<p>

As soon as Goliath arrived with Elisa, the helicopter was off. Though Don had more piloting experience than Lex, he let the web-winged gargoyle man the controls as he sat with his brothers in the back.

"This thing looks like a flying junkpile," Broadway commented.

"Yeah?" Lex shot back. "I suppose if you designed it, it'd be covered in food."

At Elisa's worried look, Goliath said, "We'll be there in time, Elisa."

The policewoman simply replied, "I hope so." Leo and Raph exchanged glances while Mikey simply continued to look out the window. Don sighed. He hoped so too.

* * *

><p>They ended up getting there just in the nick of time. Upon the arrival of the chopper in the sky, Hyena and Jackal's attention shifted from Xanatos to them. Jackal fired a laser at them, but it was deflected by the armor Lex and Don had installed.<p>

"Still think the armor looks dumb?" Lex asked as he turned on the floodlights. The effects were instant - it was obvious, by the way the two shed their goggles and shielded their eyes, that the lights were nearly blinding to Jackal and Hyena.

"It's Jackal and Hyena! Take them out, quickly!" Goliath ordered. Lex simply smirked as he pressed a button, launching a net-missile. As it neared the fleeing target, the missle opened up into a net, ensnaring the two. However, they quickly broke free thanks to knives they had on-hand.

Jackal began firing at them again, just as Brooklyn and Broadway leapt out to subdue them. Not wanting to miss any of the fun, Raph had decided to join them.

Jackal began to run again, though Broadway quickly caught up to him, effectively knocking him out with a well-placed punch.

Hyena, who was still partly blind, stumbled as Raph and Brooklyn rushed to catch up to her. She began firing wildly, hitting only trees. One of these trees, however, fell and landed on Brooklyn, who struggled to get back up. Raphael went to try and help him, and as Hyena shouted, "Where are you?" he realized he didn't have much to worry about if she couldn't see.

He was about to sneak up behind her, when the chopper came in low. The lights were back on, and it seemed Hyena's eyes were more used to the brightness than the dark forest. She aimed at the helicopter and fired a few times, but Lex took out her gun with a well-placed shot of his own. She growled, but assumed a fighting stance as Broadway arrived, helping to remove the tree from the red gargoyle's back. "I'm not beaten yet!"

At that moment, Elisa jumped down from the chopper with Goliath, Leo, Don, and Mikey. The policewoman was aiming her gun at the ex-actress, and remarked, "Oh yes you are." Hyena held her hands up, surrendering - only Raph noticed the devious smirk on her face.

* * *

><p>The Turtles were standing behind the Trio and Goliath. Even though Derek wasn't on the verge of panicking or anything, they were still a bit uneasy around new humans.<p>

"Detective," Xanatos was saying, "I'm sure your brother was more than capable of handling the situation...but thank you for your help just the same. Now, you'd probably like a private moment." As he walked away, there was silence for a moment or two before Derek spoke.

"So they are real," Derek said, obviously talking about the gargoyles.

"What do you mean?" Elisa said, obviously surprised. "I didn't tell you about them."

"No," Derek admitted, "but Xanatos did. He showed me a videotape of the gargoyles, and only vaguely told me about the Turtles - but I still find it hard to believe."

"Xanatos told you about them - about _all_ of them?" Elisa demanded, shocked.

"Yes. He didn't know much about the Turtles, just briefly had a run-in with them...but he said that he tried to help the gargoyles, but they rejected him. He also admitted he made a few mistakes in dealing with them - and with you"

"A _few mistakes?_"

"So you can give up trying to get me to quit, because it's _not_ gonna happen!"

"You have to quit; he's using you!"

"It's my life, so butt out!"

"_Quiet_, both of you!"

Goliath's sudden outburst shocked everyone into silence. The Trio and the Turtles stared at the lavender-blue gargoyle as he confronted the Maza siblings.

"You don't know how lucky you are to have siblings to fight with," Goliath said. "All of my rookery brothers are dead. And there is nothing - _nothing_ - more important than family." And Goliath walked away, leaving them all with something to think about as snow began to fall.

* * *

><p>Back in the city, it was cold - wicked cold. The Turtles were shivering, thankful that they had stashed spare sweaters in the clock tower - though the lightweight sweaters weren't that big of a help.<p>

As the sun began to rise, the gargoyles went out into the snow to take their places. Leo smirked slightly when the Trio came out.

"Hey Lex," Broadway said before they parted. "...Good job on the helicopter!"

"Yeah," Brooklyn added. "That armor really helped!"

"I couldn't have done it without you two," Lex said with a smile. Leo, too, was smiling as the gargoyles took their places. And as the sun rose, the Turtles stood with Elisa, simply...watching.


	8. Reawakening

Last episode of season 1 - then I'm on to the season 2 episodes. Oh, this shall be quiiiiite fun...

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reawakening<strong>_

April and Casey had been amongst the crowd of people in Time Square. Thanks to their quick call, the Turtles had arrived mere moments ago to the scene. But there were still so many people there, including police, that they didn't risk engaging the creature...at least not yet. If things took a turn for the worse, then they would go into action.

They almost instantly recognized Elisa's car - both April and the Turtles. The Turtles, from their perch, also saw Goliath land just below them, below the neon sign. He looked up and gave a quick nod, which was returned by the Turtles, before their attention shifted back to the scene below.

April shoved her way through the crowd, and Elisa recognized her friend immediately. "April, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Casey and I were in the neighborhood, when...when that thing shows up," April replied as Casey arrived. People were running, screaming, scattered all about, causing more panic than was helpful.

"You two, stay here," Elisa commanded her friends, ready to move in with Matt. Casey shook his head.

"Uh-uh, no way," he said. "We're not gonna just sit here while that thing rips up our city!"

"Well, it's our responsibility," Matt shot back, glaring at the vigilante. "You two, just stay out of it!"

April turned to Elisa, but the detective simply nodded, though she had a sad glint in her eye. With a sigh, April turned, grabbing Casey by the arm. "C'mon, Case, let's go." Turning back to Elisa, the red-head added, "Be careful, Elisa. I don't wanna miss our night out on Saturday."

With a slight grin, Elisa nodded before she and Matt went to go after the creature, as April and Casey left the scene.

Don watched some of their oldest friends go, and then turned to their newest friend and her partner. He faintly heard their shouts of "Police, freeze!" and "You're under arrest!", but the thing, whatever it was, wouldn't comply. It lifted up a nearby car, and Matt and Elisa opened fire, but the bullets simply bounced off of it. His eyes widened. Not good, not good at all...

Just as the car was thrown, Goliath acted, swooping down on the creature. He was quickly thrusted back, however, and made a dent into an overturned bus, just next to Elisa.

Suddenly, the floodlights on the policecars went on, and all the Turtles gasped. It was...a gargoyle. But it was also...a robot. A cyborg? Don's eyes widened. A gargoyle-cyborg...

All of a sudden, a laser shot out of an arm cannon at Goliath and Elisa. The lavender gargoyle leapt out of the way with her just in time, but Don's attention had shifted from them to the cyborg. He seemed mystified by the arm cannon, as if he didn't know he could do that. This caused the purple-banded Turtle to frown. Something wasn't right in this picture...

The gargoyle-cyborg didn't have long to wonder about his arm cannon; Goliath swooped in again for some more punches. As his brothers readied themselves to spring into action if necessary, Don put a small communicator, hanging from a chain, around his neck before putting a matching one in his ear. The ones Goliath and Elisa had were still turned on; now he could hear everything that was said down below.

The gargoyle-cyborg began blasting again, and Goliath dodged out of the way before leaping for the cyborg. Even without the communicator, Don and his brothers could hear Elisa cry,"Goliath!" However, he was the only one who hear Matt mutter, "Come on, before they knock the whole building down!" as he led his partner away.

As Goliath struggled with the cybernetic gargoyle, the lavender gargoyle obviously recognized something. Leo had just asked Don if he could make it so they could all hear out of one communicator, and Don had just finished adjusting it so they could all hear: "I...know you! ...From long ago...you _are_ my brother."

"And you are my betrayer!" the cyborg snapped back, managing to throw Goliath aside. The lavender gargoyle just had time to dodge out of the way, and another laser hit the movie theatre.

Inside, watching 'Bambi', were Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington. "Boy, that surround sound sure is great!" Broadway commented at the loud bang.

Lexington frowned. "I don't remember any explosions in Bambi." The Trio shared a look before another blast shook the building.

Back outside, Goliath had been hit with some falling debris. As he made to get up, however, the cybernetic gargoyle grabbed him and picked the still-stunned gargoyle up. "Now you will pay for destroying me and our clan!"

Just then, a car tire rim sailed at the two, effectively scraping his robotic arm and gaining his attention.

Don blinked; how had Raphael gotten down there so fast? Man, that Turtle just loved fighting with the gargoyles...he heard Mikey stifle a chuckle and Leo slap a palm to his face.

"Put 'im down, ugly!" Raphael growled, spinning his sais.

"And we mean now!" Broadway finished, tail lashing. As he said this, Lexington slammed down hard on one of the tires, causing the rim to fly off into Brooklyn's hand. The red gargoyle took aim and fired, much like one would throw a frisbee. Though it just missed the target, it distracted the cybernetic gargoyle so that Goliath could lash out and get free. He went to stand with his clan as the gargoyle-cyborg regained his footing.

"Goliath, what is that thing?" Brooklyn asked.

"It is one of us," Goliath said. Muttering, he added, "Or used to be."

"More traitors!" said gargoyle snarled. "You will all pay!"

"Why are you attacking us?" Goliath inquired as his clan and Raph began advancing toward the cyber-gargoyle.

"You betrayed the clan, destroyed it!" he accused.

"We were all betrayed!" Goliath shot back.

"Too true," a feminine voice said. All gargoyles and Turtles looked up to see a female gargoyle with light blue skin and red hair swoop down from above, followed by three robot-gargoyles; one red, the other two silver.

"Holy cow," Mikey muttered to Leo and Don. "Dudes, she's totally hot!"

"She's also the current enemy," Leo reminded his little brother. "Now quiet, so we can hear what's going on!" he added, turning back to the gargoyles.

"Yeah, this is getting good." Raph had managed to slip back to his brothers, startling all of them; Don sometimes wondered how the red-masked hothead did it.

"You told him these lies," Goliath accused the female gargoyle. "I lived for my clan!"

"And they died for you!" the female countered. "Smashed to dust by the humans you trusted!"

Back with the police, Matt muttered to Elisa, "Man oh man, th-this can't be happening!"

"There has to be something we can do," Elisa murmured, unfazed by her partner's comment.

"I don't think so," a dark-skinned officer, who Don believed was called Morgan, said. "Unless you're packing a nuclear weapon..."

"We have each created our own clans now, Goliath," the female gargoyle was saying. "You have yours, and I have mine."

"You have no clan," Goliath growled back. "You don't know the meaning of the word!"

The female paused for a minuted, before commanding, "Destroy them, Coldstone." Before anyone could react, the red robot-gargoyle put a hand on the female's shoulder.

"Let's not be hasty." Don could barely hear it speak, though he recognized the voice of David Xanatos. "I want them alive."

With a disgusted look on her face, the female shoved him back, before saying to Coldstone, "Destroy them and we will survive!"

The cyber-gargoyle, Coldstone, looked up at her, glaring. "Survive? Like _this?"_

"Appearances mean nothing!" the female snarled back. "We are the true gargoyles; they have been corrupted by the humans!"

At this, both Goliath and Coldstone turned to each other, eyes meeting. "There has been enough death," Goliath said after a pause. "There are so few of us left, my brother."

Coldstone blinked, taken aback slightly by this news. He seemed to be thinking of an answer, when there was a screech of tires. All turned to see a news crew arrive, cameras at the ready.

"Goliath." The Turtles could still hear Elisa perfectly, even though she was whispering. "We don't want this on the eleven o'clock news."

Slightly nodding at this, Goliath turned to the robots. "Xanatos, I'm sure you can communicate via your robots, and I doubt you want to see any more destruction done to your city. Perhaps we should move to someplace less...fragile."

"No," the female shot back, "we finish this now!"

Putting a hand on her shoulder again, the lead, red robot contradicted her declaration: "An excellent suggestion, Goliath." He stopped to look at Demona, who turned her head away. The voice of Xanatos went on, "I propose we reconvine at..."

"I'll be there, Goliath," was the last thing the Turtles heard Elisa say into the communicators before they shut it off to run to the spot. "And I'll bring help."

* * *

><p>The Turtles had just barely beaten the gargoyles there. As their friends landed on the tower, all four Turtles had to hide a shiver; they had on some clothes, sure, but they weren't the warmest, and the fact that they were still reptiles, and therefore still at least partly cold-blooded, wasn't helping at all.<p>

"Hey," a slightly panting Lexington remarked, "looks like we beat them here."

Just as he finished his sentence, they all looked up at the sound of approaching rockets, and just barely managed to dodge out of the way of a laser cannon. Brooklyn, who landed face-first in the snow, sarcastically grumbled, "Remind me to be fashionably late next time."

He then proceeded to go after the female, who was carrying a large laser gun. He knocked it out of her hands, however, as he tackled her, and both went plummeting toward the ground. "Got any spells to save you now?" Seconds later, both slammed into one of the wires holding the bridge up, and both went sprawling onto the road below, knocked unconcious.

Meanwhile, Goliath and Coldstone were struggling again. "I...don't want to hurt you!" Goliath growled as he fought against his old rookery brother.

"You already have!" was the reply the lead gargoyle recieved.

Don had planned ahead; he had brought along upgraded versions of their jetpacks, and had just finished handing them out to his brothers. They proceeded to take to the skies to aid their friends.

Lexington had it under control with his robot; he led him to one of the tower-like structures on the bridge, before swiftly extending his wings fully to gently land on the platform. The robot was not so lucky, and Lex commented, "They always fall for that trick."

Broadway, however, was struggling with the red robot; some of the wires had been blasted away, and had successfully wrapped around the large gargoyle, ensnaring him. The red robot had his guns aimed, and was approaching at rapid speeds. However, Lex managed to kick it toward the pavement; it recovered, but a surprise kick from Mikey swooping by was enough to land him in a pile of snow. Both Lex and Mike landed, and walked over to help Brooklyn up.

Meanwhile, Don and Raph were busy with the other silver robot. They were constantly zig-zagging around, confusing the robot and allowing Leo to blast down from above at just the right moment, sword at the ready. A neat cut, and the robot was headless; it then proceeded to explode as the other three Turtles landed next to their brother, Lex, and Brooklyn.

The red robotic suit was smoking, and Don and Leo were watching it carefully as Mikey, Lex, and Raph were helping Brooklyn get back to his senses. With a shout, the head, which was really just a helmet, was pulled off of the robotic suit, revealing..."Xanatos!"

But all of them were destracted as yells and shouts were heard from above...and they all turned to watch Coldstone and Goliath plummet into the icy Hudson River below.

"No!"

"Goliath!"

Leo turned, and nodded to Raph. Both ignited their jetpacks and flew to hover hear Broadway, using their weapons to cut the gargoyle from the cables. Lex assisted in this, too, while Brooklyn, Mikey, and Don watched for any sign that would indicate Goliath or Coldstone resurfacing.

It didn't take too long...but what they got was a shock. Coldstone was carrying Goliath, who seemed out of breath or unconcious, out of the river. All were watching the cybernetic gargoyle with anticipation.

"Is he...?" Broadway began, but immediately got his answer: "He lives." Xanatos watched with narrowed eyes.

"He's OK," Brooklyn announced.

"But you're not." They all spun around to face the female gargoyle, who had gotten her gun back. "Thank you so much for saving Goliath...for me." Her cold voice made Mikey shiver even more than the temperature.

"Wait-" Xanatos began, but was cut off by Coldstone.

"You said that destroying my brother is the only way to survive," the cybernetic gargoyle remarked. "Is that all there is for us? Mere survival?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"No." Goliath was on his feet now. "Gargoyles protect," he continued. "It is our nature, our purpose. To lose that is to be corrupt, empty...lifeless."

"And what do you protect?" Coldstone asked, but he never got an answer.

"Enough of this!" the female gargoyle growled, firing the laser. But instead of hitting Goliath, as she had obviously intended, Coldstone took the hit.

"No!" Goliath jumped into the river, after the sparking body. The Turtles would not have hesitated, had it been warmer, but they were wary about going into water in the freezing cold. Instead, they simply watched with the Trio.

"At least I can finish you three off, along with your...friends!" the female hissed, causing them to whip around and stare at her. As she aimed, however, another blast knocked the gun out of her hand.

"I told you," Xanatos said as his arm laser retracted back into his suit. "I want them alive."

Just then, snarling and barking could be heard, and they all watched as Bronx ran and leapt at Xanatos, effectively pinningthe man to the ground. Elisa stepped in, gun at the ready, Hudson landing behind her.

"It's over, Xanatos," she said, gun pointed at him.

"I don't think so." His rockets ignited, and he lifted upwards, knocking Bronx off of him. On his way, he picked up the startled female gargoyle. They all lost intrest quite quickly; the Trio were looking down, ashamed of themselves, while the Turtles simply stood off to the side.

"It took me a while to lose Matt and get Hudson," Elisa explained. Then she asked, "Is everyone OK? What happened to the monster?" At the slight crunch of snow, they all turned to look at Goliath, who was dripping wet and empty-handed.

"He was not a monster," Goliath said, regret evident in his voice. "He was family...and now he's gone."

Elisa looked slightly shocked, and then her eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry."

Goliath had nothing more to say on the subject, except, "Let's go home."

They all climbed up to the top of one of the tower-things - even Don forgot what they were called - to fly back home. The Turtles were adjusting their jetpacks, when Lex spoke up.

"Goliath? You told Coldstone that gargoyles protect."

"Like we breathe, boy," Hudson commented. "You know that."

"Yeah, but..._what_ do we protect?" Brooklyn questioned.

Hudson faintly shrugged as he answered, "The clock tower." Goliath obviously thought differently.

"No." All of them turned to look at him. "That is merely where we sleep. This island...Manhattan - this is our castle. From this day forward, we protect all who live here; human and gargoyle," and with a faint smile, he added, "and mutant ninja Turtles alike."

Elisa spoke quietly to Goliath, and he answered as quietly; the Turtles could not make out what they said. But after that, they took to the sky, wings spread or jetpacks at full ignition.

* * *

><p>The storekeeper sighed as he held up his hands upon the entry of the robber who had robbed him four times already that month. "Ah, not again," he complained, not noticing the way the robber was nervously pointing his gun out the door, watching for someone or something. "Can't you rob somebody else this time?"<p>

He was surprised when the man came over to him and said, "I-I'm not robbing you, man. Do me a favor: call the cops so I can turn myself in," he added, dumping stolen money onto the counter.

"What?" the storekeeper asked, startled. "Why?"

Ducking under the counter, he muttered, "Cuz a bunch of monsters just told me to."

Outside, on a rooftop across from the store, the gargoyles were frozen in stone for the day. April, Elisa, Don, Mikey, Leo, and Raph stood beside them, looking over the city.

"You know what, guys?" Elisa remarked to the stone gargoyles. "The city feels safer already."


	9. Leader of the Pack

WAHOO! And now, my friends, let me introduce the start of the fabulous season 2! Brooklyn, Bronx, Lex, Mikey, and Raph go off on their own to face the Pack - meanwhile, Goliath, Broadway, and Hudson conduct their own search to find the escaped criminals.

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Leader of the Pack<em>**

As the sun set behind the bustling Manhattan skyline, atop the clocktower of the 23rd precinct the sound of cracking stone could be heard. The center one, the largest of the six, cracked open glowing eyes. More breaking stone could be heard as he began to move, stretching, and finally shattered his rocky prison with an awakening roar.

The other ones began to awaken now: the blue beast stretched, relishing his freedom with a single bark; the large light blue one scratched his stomach as he yawned loudly. The light green web-wing and the older one let out yawn-roars along with the red, beaked one; all sounded somewhat like what the dinosaurs may have sounded like.

After their awakening, all turned to walk back into the clocktower. Hudson and Goliath had their wings around them like capes, while the Trio let theirs flap behind them. As Bronx finally padded down the steps, their human friend, Elisa Maza, appeared, with two of the four Turtles at her side.

"What is it, Elisa?"

"...Bad news, I'm afraid. The Pack has escaped from Riker's Island."

"What?"

"Ooh, nice wakeup call," Brooklyn muttered sardonically.

"I know, right?" Raphael, the red-masked Turtle, growled.

"We gotta track them down now! ...Before the trail gets cold!" Lex proclaimed, eyes narrowed in anger.

Elisa and Goliath looked at the younger gargoyle, somewhat surprised by his outburst. Then Goliath turned to Elisa, his hands on her shoulders. "How did it happen?"

"Dingo and...somebody dressed in black took 'em out, quick and clean."

Lex was practically dancing now. "What are we waiting for? Let's get moving!"

"Where do we start?" Broadway asked his younger rookery brother. "Manhattan is a lot bigger a castle than the one we're used to protecting."

"The Pack Media Studios - they'll go back to it like snakes to a nest...and I'll be waiting for them." In the background, Michelangelo, the orange-masked Turtle, could hear sirens starting to wail.

Just as Lexington was about to jump off of the building, Goliath and Elisa rounded the corner. "Lexington, wait!"

"The studio is the first place we're checking!"

Lexington looked back at them, surprised, as Brooklyn, followed unknowingly by Bronx, leapt out from between the two.

"C'mon, Lex, you and me - we'll check it out," Brooklyn promised. Bronx padded up to the two, making what would be considered a whimper, though it was much too deep.

"You wanna come too, Bronx?"

At the proposal, Bronx jumped once and barked happily. The two gargoyles picked him up, Lex on his left, Brooklyn on the right, and took off together. From the rooftop, Raph exchanged a smirk with Mikey,

"Wanna see if we can beat 'em there?"

"Bro, you are so on!"

As the two leapt off toward the nearest rooftop, Goliath, who had been watching them with Elisa and Hudson, remarked, "The Pack won't be foolish enough to return to the studio."

"Aye," Hudson agreed. Looking toward Elisa, he said, "I think we'll have to trace this problem back to its source."

"The man who created the Pack," Elisa stated.

With a growl of emmity in his voice, Goliath finished: "Xanatos."

* * *

><p>Broadway, Hudson, and Goliath landed in Castle Wyvern, padding through it as if they had lived there forever - which, of course, they had. Bursting through the door to the main hall, Goliath growled out, "We're here to see Xanatos."<p>

The man in the room, Owen Burnette, replied; "Alas, Mr. Xanatos is not here. It isn't him you want anyway." At Golaith's raised eyebrow, the man added, "Your business, I believe, is with the pack." At their surprised faces, Owen continued on: "As it happens, their social calender shows them arriving at Pack Media Studios anytime now. They're expecting you. ...Shouldn't you...be there?"

Grabbing his wings, which were folded as a cape, Goliath rumbled in his deep bass, "I'll speak to Xanatos later."

As they left, they didn't hear Owen remark, "Sooner than you think, perhaps."

* * *

><p>From their vantage point, Raph growled, "So, we weren't the only ones who figured they'd be here."<p>

"The police can have them," Lexington snarled, "After _I'm_ through with them."

"Look, Lex, I know how you feel," Brooklyn said, looking up at his rookery brother, who was perched on a higher ledge then he was. "You trusted them and they used you, nearly got you and Goliath killed." Lexington's eyes narrowed even more as he continued to watch the studio - but it was obvious he was listening.

"I feel the same way every time somebody mentions _Demona_," Brooklyn continued, the name of the female gargoyle etched with his hatred. "But you can't let it consume you. You need to remember what's really important: family, protecting our home!"

"You have your priorities," Lex snarled, "and I have mine."

"I gotta tell ya, Lex," Brooklyn muttered, "you're starting to worry me."

"Look!"

Below, the police cars were leaving. "Looks like it's a no-show," Mike commented.

"I'm checking it out." Lex swooped down, headed for the studio.

"Wait for me!" Mike called. "I don't wanna miss anything good!" He began to leap down toward the ground, followed by Raph, who was mumbling something about "stupid idiotic Mikey always going in over his head."

"C'mon, Bronx," Brooklyn muttered to the gargoyle beast. "No point in staying up here where it's safe," he added sarcastically.

* * *

><p>"Nobody home," Brooklyn commented once they were inside. "Happy now?"<p>

"...Maybe you're right," Lex admitted. Bronx, however, after sniffing around, began to growl - just as the ground began to shake.

The gargoyles and Turtles backed up before actually falling over. A bright light came from an opening crack in the ground, forcing the five to shield their eyes. Finally, the chamber-like ship thing stopped its ascent, and a door in the side opened. As smoke began to clear, they could make out the shape of one of the Pack emerging.

"Now _they_ know how to make an entrance!" Brooklyn and Raph commented at the same time.

Upon seeing Wolf emerge, grinning insanely, Lex's eyes glowed white. He hissed, lunging for the man - Brooklyn just barely caught him. "Wait," he said, albiet quietly, though Lexington continued to hiss and snarl. "We need a plan."

As the remaining members of the Pack emerged, Raph took out his dual sai, spinning them before assuming a fighting stance. Mikey copied suit, though with his nunchucks twirling wildly in a fancy display - a trick they often used to try and intimidate their opponents.

As Hyena beckoned faintly, Lex snapped. He pushed Brooklyn away, who landed roughly on Bronx, and leapt, snarling, onto Wolf.

"Oh, yeah, nice plan," Brooklyn muttered as he got up. "Let's go!"

He and Bronx leapt, and after Jackal knocked both Bronx and Brooklyn aside, Raph and Mikey joined the fray. The two tackled the offender; Bronx leapt now for Dingo, while Lex began struggling with Hyena. Jackal, free of the Turtles now, leapt again for Brooklyn - Raph had switched to Wolf. It was Mikey who noticed the armored man rising dramatically from the little chamber.

As Mikey ascended toward him, Bronx took a chance and leapt. He was quickly thrown aside, causing Mikey to hesitate - Bronx was so easily dispatched; what chance did he stand? Then he scowled. He was Battle Nexus Champion! He could take on anyone!

Nunchucks twirling, Mikey jumped for him, startling the newcomer. He landed solid blows - but did no damage. "Knew I should've gotten some metal 'chucks," he muttered to himself. Then he blinked in surprise - the armored guy dodged a blow, grabbed him, and threw him to where Bronx now lay incapacitated. The Turtle landed on his shell, skidding across the floor - but when his head hit the wall and then the floor, he blacked out.

Meanwhile, Lex and Raph were tag-teaming Wolf, while Brooklyn held off Hyena. A solid punch to the gut, and the woman was sent flying. Her brother glared at the gargoyle. "That's no way to treat a lady!"

"That was no lady," Brooklyn retorted. Behind him, however, Dingo was aiming a boomerang - Raph took notice, and shouted a warning. "Brook, behind you!"

It came a split second too late - the disk hit the red gargoyle's back, and with a cry, he fell to the floor, knocked unconcious by the electric pulse.

Lex, meanwhile, was faring considerably well against Wolf on his own; Raph had now gone to pummel Dingo and Jackal. The small gargoyle beckoned for Wolf to have at it - the large man obliged, but in a quick side dodge, Lex used his tail to trip up the man.

"You miserable lizard - I'll tear you in half!" Another dodge by Lex - then Wolf dodged a punch, but couldn't deflect the second one to his gut. Lex grinned, pleased - but then heard the new member land behind him. A cannon from his arm was aimed at him, and it emitted a sonic wave-like blast. The high frequency caused Lex to become disorientated - and after another moment, he collapsed, rendered unconcious.

"Nighty-night," Jackal muttered. The Pack had gathered around the two unconcious gargoyles, momentaraly forgetting Raphael. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"How about the Turtle kicks you all till you cry?" With a battle cry, Raph leapt down from the rafters, taking out Dingo and Jackal. With a flip, he dodged Hyena, landing a solid kick to Wolf's stomach and using the momentum to launch himself back at Hyena, tackling her to the ground.

As he got up from the know-unconcious female, he faced the other man, grinning and spinning his sais. "You and me now, pal! Gimme your best shot!"

"Alright then." Raph dropped his sais as the wave hit him so he could cover his ears. He groaned, thanking the fact that his ears, while sensitive, were super small and super effective at blocking out what he didn't want to hear, thanks to years of living with Mikey. But, though it took longer, he eventually dropped, and the Pack, who had just recovered, grinned.

* * *

><p>Broadway, Goliath, and Hudson padded into the studio, looking around for their clan members and the Pack. Hudson examined a dent in the wall - the place where Bronx and Mikey had smashed into it.<p>

"There was a struggle here."

All of a sudden, the telephone began ringing. Broadway, who was nearest, made to answer it, but looked to Goliath for permission first. At the nod, the gargoyle picked it up. "...Uh...hello?"

"_Good evening...uh, Broadway, is it?" _the voice of Owen Brunette replied on the other end of the phone. "_I've been instructed to invite you to an intimate suare the Pack is having tonight. If you and your friends are free around midnight please consider attending on the oil tanker Atoshiana Maru in the middle of the bay. I believe some of your party are already in attendance."_

As Owen hung up, Broadway gripped the telephone and growled, "The Pack has 'em."

* * *

><p>Lex awoke to the sound of claws scraping metal and a few loud booms. He sat up to see Brooklyn, sitting and looking at the ground in dismay. "Solid steel," he announced, "and I don't know how many feet thick." With a sigh, he added, "No way we're getting out."<p>

Standing up now, Lex growled, "We almost had 'em!"

As Lex stopped in front of Brooklyn, the red gargoyle sarcastically muttered, "Oh, yeah, yeah they were beggin' for mercy. Hey, how come whenever you and I take Bronx out we wind up like this?"

Bronx, who had been scratching at the walls, looked over indignantly and whimpered.

"Don't worry, Bronx," Brooklyn added. "Goliath will find us."

"I don't need Goliath's help!" Lex proclaimed, eyes blazing white. "I can take them by myself!"

"Because you did sooo well last time," Raph muttered from where he was sulking in the corner. Mikey, who was glaring at the wall as though he could make it melt if he stared long enough and hard enough, looked over and snickered as Lex began banging on the walls.

"Lex," Brooklyn commented, "You're not off to a great start."

* * *

><p>On deck, a battle was beggining to rage. Broadway, who had swept aside Dingo, Jackal, and Wolf moments ago, was currently trying to pry open the lid from which he heard bangs against metal; but, as Wolf lunged, he dodged aside to let the man smack against the chained handle.<p>

Meanwhile, Hudson was in a standoff with Dingo, Jackal, and Hyena. His eyes shifted from one to the next as they all prepared to launch - but they made no moves. Finally, Hudson drew his sword, eyes glowing as he did so. "C'mon, then," he growled. "We're none of us gettin' any younger."

Finally, Dingo lunged, but the aged gargoyle leapt up and out of the way, sending him sliding into the railing. Jackal swiped next with his clawed glove, but a slash from Hudson's sword rendered him clawless on his left hand. His shirt was grabbed then, and he was thrown into Dingo, rendering both unconcious.

Hyena leapt next, but Hudson used his leathery wing as a shield. He then thrust her away with the wing, and she knocked into Broadway, who had been again trying to open the hatch. The unconcious woman sent him knocking full force into the hatch lid, ripping it from its chains and hinges and in the process knocking over and spilling several oil barrels. "Thanks for the help," the light blue gargoyle muttered sarcastically.

From the now-opened hatch, an enraged Lex emerged first, followed by Mikey, Raph, Brooklyn, and then Bronx; all five launched themselves into the fray. Then, the explosion - caused by the blast of Coyote, who had been facing off against Goliath a few decks above.

The gargoyle leader pinned the man against the wall, and ripped off his helmet, to come face-to-face with -

"Xanatos!"

"Nice to see you too, Goliath," the billionaire replied, an evil grin on his face as he gripped the gargoyle's arm. Flipping, he launched himself into the burning deck below after kicking Goliath in the chest. Growling, Goliath launched himself after his hated enemy, and their fists met. They struggled, Goliath growling, as one fought to gain the upper hand in a contest of strength and will. Finally, with a move Raph and Mikey used on several occasions, Xanatos maneuvered himself into a position to flip Goliath into a bar supporting the upper decks. Shaking his head, he launched back into the fight.

The battle brawled everywhere - gargoyles and Turtles were switching opponents constantly, teamwork a key factor in both teams.

"Stay down, blast you!" Hudson snarled as he fought with Dingo and Wolf.

Bronx had tackled Xanatos now, knocking him off of Goliath. The beast ripped and tore at Xanatos's head - wounds that would maul his face were inflicted. But as Bronx was thrown off and Xanatos stood, no blood trailed. As he turned, all were shocked to see...

"He's a robot!"

"A robot? ...Even better."

Then, said robot was blasted through the chest, courtesy of Lexington and a high-powered laser gun.

"I will have my revenge," the robot proclaimed as he began to fall. As Goliath launched himself at the robot...Mikey looked away, though he assumed the robot's head was dislodged.

Cocking the gun, a smirking Lex was now facing the Pack. "Who's next?"

Suddenly, explosions - and Jackal grabbed Hyena's arm. "Things are about to become complicated...let's book, sis!" The two darted away, followed by Dingo and Wolf, and leapt off the side of the ship into their awaiting airship.

"No!" Lexington charged after them, gun at the ready. He aimed to fire, but an explosion knocked him back. Another explosion sent Brooklyn flying into a nearby rail, and he sunk, unconcious, to the ground and began to slip overboard.

Lex, looking through the scope, saw two options - save Brooklyn from the oil-lit-on-fire laced waters below, or take out the Pack.

Just as Brooklyn slipped off, Lex grabbed his tail and bulled him back on board and over to safety, just as another explosion shook the ship.

Water began to seep in from a hole below deck, and the ship tilted unsteadily, crazily. As more explosions rocked the ship and the headless robo-Xanatos began to slip overboard, Raph grabbed Mikey.

"Swim, Mike! We gotta swim!"

"In THAT water? With the oil and fire? No way, bro!"

"Come on, Mike, we gotta MOVE!"

The two Turtles jumped overboard, into a section of water that was not full of oil and fire. Bubbles streamed behind them as they reached what they deemed a safe distance, heads popping above water.

They looked up, satisfied, as winged figures began to circle the sinking ship. Swimming further away to avoid being pulled into the wreakage, the two brothers again watched...and suddenly saw the lone figure of Bronx, sitting atop the very tip of the sinking ship, mournfully howling to the moon. Thankfully, Goliath swooped in and grabbed the beast, just as the tip of it slipped under the torrents of waves.

"Come on, Mike," Raph said to his brother. "We'll meet back up with them on land, let 'em know we're safe."

Mikey, still shocked, blinked - then grinned. "Leo and Donnie are gonna have COWS when they hear what we did!"

"Yeah, shell-fer-brains; now can we go or are we gonna float here for the rest of our lives?"

Above the smoldering, sunken wreakage, Lex and Brooklyn swooped, side by side.

"Thanks for saving my bacon before it got fried."

"...I'm used to it. Besides...it helped me get my priorities straight."

And they flew off after their clan as the remnants of the ship finished exploding beneath the sea.

* * *

><p>"Taking into consideration your overall exemplory behavior, and particularly your decision to serve your time and help the guard during the recent escape of your former accomplisists...this board hereby grants you...and early parole."<p>

Fox smiled the whole way back to the car, where she undid her hair from the ponytail as soon as the door closed and embraced a certain billionaire. "I missed you," he said as he broke free from their kiss.

"Not as much as I've missed you," Fox replied. "So...who won?"

"It never mattered," Xanatos proclaimed. "That was merely the icing; you're the cake," he added as he lightly kissed her again.

"The whole escape was staged to give you a shot at an early parole," he explained. "Plus, I got a chance to test out this prototype humanoid robot," he added, tearing off paper covering the dismembered robotic head of himself.

"But they destroyed it," Fox pointed out. "What about your revenge?"

"Revenge, as they say, is a sucker's game. Robots are nothing, Fox my dear. I can build a dozen more like this one. True love is so much harder to come by."


	10. Metamorphosis

I've got a 3-day weekend, thanks to a combination of Homecoming and Veteran's Day (thanks to all those Veterans for protecting us, by the way. We salute your bravery and dedication to your country.), so I'll try and get a few more updates in. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Metamorphosis<em>**

"I always love watching them wake up," Donatello murmured to Leonardo as the sun finally sank down. Their brothers Raphael and Michelangelo were on the other side of town, patrolling with Casey, April, and Angel. Don and Leo, as always, stopped by the clocktower to see if they could join their friends with their own patrols.

On cue, stone began to shatter as the gargoyles woke from their stone slumber. And, like always, Leo and Don stepped forward to greet their friends.

* * *

><p>"As soon as they left, we caught the first updraft back."<p>

Don frowned as Broadway and Brooklyn recounted their story of the strange creature they had met on their patrol.

"She was...so frightened."

"Yeah - of us."

"She needed our help!"

"We talking about the same person? From where I sat, she didn't want our help."

"She wanted _mine!"_

Oh, yeah, Brooklyn's in love, Don realized with a smirk.

"Lover boy took this off her wrist." Don stifled laughter at that, but upon looking at the bracelet, his chocolate eyes widened.

"Well it was a tracking device: digital, long-range, expensive," Elisa noted.

"The symbol was on the ambulance, too," Broadway mentioned.

"Gen-U-Tech?" Don's excitment got the better of him. "That's the newest, leading lab in NYC that deals with bio-engineering!"

"Gen-U-Tech..."

* * *

><p>"Where are you going?"<p>

Leo and Don had returned at sunset the next day, in time to catch Brooklyn about to fly off somewhere.

"Rushing off without a plan won't help her," Goliath was saying. Leo smirked; he had talked with Goliath last night, and knew exactly what was coming next.

"And I have a plan."

* * *

><p>"We can get in through here."<p>

"Wait!" Lex caught Brooklyn's hand just as Don and Leo landed on the rooftop after them. "See those wires? Wires mean electricity, and electricity probably means an alarm..."

"So we don't go in that way," Don concluded, walking up beside his gargoyle friend.

"Wonderful, terrific - so what do we do?" Ah, as sarcastic as Raph - no wonder the two had become such fast friends.

"Find another way in." Padding away a few feet, Goliath simply ripped open a hole in the roof. Don and Leo exchanged glances.

"Remind me to never let them become enemies," Leo muttered.

"Bro, you took the words right out of my mouth."

Once inside, Lex hopped over to the nearest computer, Don looking over his shoulder. "Would you quit fooling around?"

"Hey, I'm trying to find your girlfriend." Leo's snicker could be heard in the background, as Don rolled his eyes. "...Got it!"

A few minutes later, they saw what they had came for. Don held back a gasp. She had obviously been human once, but mutation had come into play: she was covered in a soft yellow fur, her ears were pointed, hands clawed, and a small lion-like tail was curled around her legs. But what shocked Don the most was the bat-like wings sprouting from her back.

Caught up in his trance, he missed the words exchanged between the gargoyle and mutation - but after pushing a button, alarms began to blare.

"Perfect," Don muttered. He had already slid into the chair of a nearby computer console, and with a few quick taps of the keyboard, the alarms died off.

Goliath, meanwhile, had broken the glass - but guards had just streamed in. Their guns, however, quickly proved useless - two clean sweeps of two katana left two guns cut in half in the hands of the two guards. He couldn't knock them out, however, before the door slammed shut as one commanded, "Lock down the labratory!" A smoke bomb sailed over Leo's head - Don took note, and as soon as smoke began filling the room, both Turtles closed their eyes and let their other senses take over.

* * *

><p>Of course Don got distracted, however - with the alarms down and Lex by his side, he just couldn't help but poke his head into every room, and as consequence, fell behind the others.<p>

"Come on already," Lex finally grumbled, sprinting ahead in an attempt to catch up. Don sighed, but obliged.

The last he saw of Lex was a tail slipping through the roof; but he didn't miss the almost-complete mutant - Derek Maza, he later realized - staring in shock with Xanatos at a limp body by a broken fish tank.

"Electric eels," Don whispered, shocked - almost literally. He stood, frozen, watching, as Xanatos ran over to the man - Sevarious, Dr. Anton Sevarious! - and checked for any signs of life.

"No pulse," Xanatos announced. "He's dead."

"No!" This was Derek - obviously in distress. "No, he can't be dead! He was my one chance...!"

"...Your one chance for reversing the mutation?" Now the two looked over at the Turtle, and Don wished he hadn't stayed, and hadn't opened his mouth. But he was in the lion's den now - there was no turning back.

"Yes." Derek was growling now. "It's yours and the gargoyles' fault!"

Before the mutant could lunge, Xanatos grabbed Derek's arm. Siezing this slim opportunity, and with a plan forming in his mind, Don slowly walked over to him.

"Look, Derek, I know alot about bio-engineering and mutation and all that," he said. "I could try and help you...all of them. Even the girl Brooklyn came for. I give you my word of honor."

Derek bit his lip with his fangs, obviously indecisive. Eyes sympathetic, Don went to leave.

"We'll let you know if I can't find anyone else." The voice of Xanatos surprised him; he turned back to stare in shock at the man.

"It'll take a while," Don warned. "I'd have to go over everything Sevarious worked on, and then turn this into my own methods so I can more easily create an antidote."

Derek's eyes were narrowed now. "What would you need?"

"Cell samples. Skin is preferable, though I won't know how the mutation might have affected internal organs unless I can do...well, pretty much the equivalent of a doctor's visit." Seeing Derek's thoughtful look, the Turtle added, "I know what it's like to be experimented on, mutated - look at me, I'm a bipedal, talking Turtle! But I've also had first-hand experience in being further mutated, manipulated; and I want to help you. I swear on my honor - which in case you didn't know, is a big deal for ninjas."

"...I'll think about it. ...Thanks for the offer, though."

With a curt bow, Don was off, trying to catch up to his friends.

* * *

><p>The female had passed out in the excitment - and in the chaos, Leo had also lost Don. From what Lex said when the web-wing had caught up to them, he had been fascinated with all the sciency stuff that made Leo's brain hurt, and had kept poking his head in to different rooms to try and see what really went on behind Gen-U-Tech walls.<p>

He watched, as the girl woke up, terrified. She tried to stand up, and didn't seem at all comforted when Brooklyn said, "It's OK. You're among friends."

Obviously trying to overcome her initial shock, but still backing away from the Gargoyles, she asked, "Were you...human, once, too?"

"No."

"Well I'm human! I'm not...like this. My name's Maggie - Maggie Reed. I'm from Ohio!" It seemed to Leo as though babbling like that was her way of overcoming her fear.

"You'll be safe here, Maggie," Lex said, trying and failing to once again comfort the girl.

"This is safe? I need a cure! I'm not a monster!"

"We're not monsters either," Brooklyn said, approaching her. "...Don't be afraid."

"The dawn is coming," Goliath cut in, "and we all need rest. When night falls, we'll find your cure, Maggie...even if it means confronting Xanatos at his castle."

Leo stayed behind, watching as Maggie watched the gargoyles go to their perches. She gasped as they became petrified as stone, and then sank down to the ground, hugging herself. She flinched and scuttled away when Leo put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

His dark, usually unreadable eyes were now filled with sympathy, and as the Turtle looked over, out on the horizon, he sighed. Master Splinter, Mikey, and Raph would have to wait for at least a few more hours, until he could be sure Don was OK - or until they called him.

He heard the flare of wings, the scrape of claws on stone, and looked over to see Maggie about to fly off. "Wait!"

His voice startled her, and she faltered, looking over at him.

"Can't you see? They want to help you. We all want to help you." Noticing the look of indecision on her face, he added, "My brother, Donatello, is a master with all types of science - including biology. He could probably find a cure for you."

"...What about the others?" she asked. "Would he cure them, too?"

"I'm certain he would." Leo frowned as he watched her look back out over the Manhattan skyline, and finally settled on a plan of action.

"Maggie, I want to tell you a story. It shouldn't take too long - an hour, maybe two or three at the most. After that, you are free to decide on whether you wish to stay or go."

She looked at him, emotions warring within her - he could see it in her cat-like eyes. Finally, she stepped off the rail of the clocktower, and consented to sit, back against the tower, as Leo began his story.

* * *

><p>"Where's Maggie?"<p>

Leo looked up from his mediation. Master Splinter had allowed him to stay here and wait for Don, who wasn't answering his shell-cell but was definitely alive - as far as his sensei could tell. He also had to tell them of what the female had done when they were asleep.

"She left."

"What? Why?"

Leo sighed - Raph was more used to dealing with Brooklyn than he was. Truthfully, he usually only came to visit with Goliath, see how things were going, and maybe talk about what their common enemies were up to. However, his previous experience had bonded him more closely to this ally clan; he could see them all becoming good friends in the near future. Thus, he tried his hand at explaining.

"I told her a story - a story of me and my brothers, and of you guys. I told her she was free to chose if she stayed or went after that. She chose to go."

"But she needs us!"

"...Brooklyn, everyone is free to their own path. Let her figure out hers."

Brooklyn's wings drooped - but then he turned and ran to the balcony. He could hear the woosh of wind as the beaked gargoyle launched himself into the night sky. Rising from his position, he sighed and turned to Goliath.

"Don still hasn't contacted me," he reported. "I'm kinda worried."

Goliath growled. "Hudson, stay here with Bronx in case either of them return. The rest of us will go to the castle."

* * *

><p>"Owen, I want you to find me the best geneticist on the planet."<p>

As the man walked away, Don snorted and turned to the billionaire. "What, I'm not good enough for you?"

Xanatos sighed as he continued watching the mutates fly about in the air above. "It's not that - I'm just worried they won't accept your help, or that the gargoyles won't allow you to work with me on this."

Don frowned; he had been thinking about this too. "They all want to see them cured," he concluded finally. "I got a chance to speak with Maggie - she relayed to me what Leo had told her before she came here. It sounds as though Leo wouldn't mind if I worked with you - and its so obvious Brooklyn has feelings for her. He wouldn't care if she stayed that way forever, but I'm sure it would make him happy to see her happy - even if that means her turning human again."

"True...but Goliath still won't approve."

"Leave it to me - but you had better be true on your word." Xanatos suddenly found himself between the glaring Turtle and the edge of the castle. "If I find out you've been lieing to me, than this deal we've come to is over."

"You have my word - I promise!" Turning back to the mutates, he sighed. This was going to complicate his plans a little bit...

Then, roars - gargoyle and mutate. Don groaned. "Oh, perfect."

"Detective Maza is here," Owen announced, returning to the scene.

"Send her up," Xanatos told him. "We have to stop this...senseless violence."

Rolling his eyes, Don leapt down to a lower level, where he was surprised to see...

"Leo!"

"Donnie! ...What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain later! Help me get these guys under control!"

"Freeze!"

"That'll work!"

"Now, calmly...who are you?"

Don gasped as they got a better view of the scene. "That's Derek! She doesn't know she's pointing at her own brother!"

"Call me...Talon."

"Ok...Talon..." They began circling each other. "Now...why are you stomping on my friend here?"

"Your friend...made me like this."

"Impossible. Goliath would never intentionally hurt anyone. ...Look...I want to help you."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

"Hope to-"

"Derek?"

Don resisted the urge to facepalm, and Leo's eyes went wide. The Turtles ran up to stand beside Owen and Xanatos, still intent on the scene in front of them.

"Derek, is that you?"

"No!"

"Xanatos did this to you!"

"It was an accident...he's trying to cure me!"

"Elisa!"

Both stopped, looking over to Don, who had stepped forward. "Elisa, lay off him - it's true! I...I was going to...that is...I'm trying to help in finding a cure for them. All of them."

Elisa looked at Don in disbelief, as did Leo.

"Donnie...that's like...that's like me joining the Shredder, or Raph joining the Purple Dragons!"

"No it's not, Leo!" Don spun, nose-to-nose with his older brother, glaring daggers at the shocked Turtle. "Those guys are bad - and Xanatos may not be number one on the World's Nicest People list, but in this he's being genuine!" Backing off a little, Don's face took a downcast look. "Besides - don't you at least trust _me_?"

Leo hesitated, glancing over at Xanatos, and then Derek. Finally, he sighed. "Of course I trust you, Donnie. I just...wish you could do this without him."

"Xanatos has the resources." Derek, or Talon, had stepped forward; Don blinked at the cackle of electricity lacing his body. "Donatello has the brains. I don't care how long it takes - if Don has these resources avaliable to him, he can eventually make our cure!"

"But do you have to stay with him?" Elisa touched his arm - the electricity stopped. "I'd feel better if you at least stayed with the gargoyles."

Derek glanced at Goliath, who had risen and was now watching with obvious intrest - then shook his head. "No. I might be cured already if they hadn't burst in when they did. I know now that they were at least trying, but I still don't know if I could stand actually living with them."

"We understand." Goliath's voice was softer, filled with empathy.

"But Don has other responsibilities." This was Leo, who padded forward to stand next to his brother. "He can't work on your cure 24/7. When he has the free time, he'll work on it; otherwise, he'll be out on patrols or training. _Gomen nasai_ - I am sorry."

Talon growled, but shook it off. "It's fine. ...We'll go now."

Talon proceeded to jump from the castle, and in the air he met with his friends. As Lex and Broadway, and then Brooklyn, landed, they watched them go.

"This still means war, Xanatos." The man was surprised by Elisa's sudden, fury-filled proclaimation. "And if you ever hurt him again, it's on your head." She turned, storming off, down the stairs.

Don sighed, eyes sparkling with sympathy. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

><p>April had been called in to try and comfort Elisa, who was sobbing about Derek on a pile of hay in a corner of the tower. Lex and Raph were comforting Brooklyn, while everyone else simply watched...empathy in their hearts.<p> 


	11. Patrols

...We shall assume that 'Legion' happened without any TMNT goodness. Here is some aftermath, though!

So, by the way, here's a quick note for those confused about timelines or any other details:

-This occurs AFTER Back to the Sewers AND the TMNT movie, where the 2003 Turtles met the 1987 Turtles.  
>-It will include the Avalon World Tour - I'm planning for Don to tag along on it, and during those we'll switch from Avalon episode back to NYC, with those who are still there.<br>-After Hunter's Moon, the end of Gargoyles Season 2, I'm going to take my own spin on things, since I think that waaay more and better things could have happened in season 3; only Journey will remain the same.  
>-I assumed that after the movie mentioned above, Karai becomes an ally to the Turtles. This shall be seen in this chapter.<p>

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Patrols<em>**

"Elisa, this is Oroku Karai - Karai, Elisa Maza."

The black-haired Japanese woman bowed. "It is an honor to meet you, Elisa-san. Allies of the Turtles are welcome allies of mine - and it will be nice to have connections to the police."

Elisa returned the bow, albiet stiffly and somewhat informally. "Thank you; it's an honor to meet you as well, and to have an ally as powerful as yourself."

Karai smiled softly. "You have met my...unusual friends. I would like to meet yours as soon as possible. Of course," she added to April, "they must be very good warriors for Leonardo and Splinter-san to speak so highly of them."

Elisa smiled in return. "You could most definitely say that. Come on, I'll introduce you."

* * *

><p>Karai, steeled ninja and warrior, gasped as the stone statues came to life upon sunset. Her green eyes were wide; April put a hand on her shoulder.<p>

"It scared me the first time, too."

"It's kinda cool, in my opinion." The three women spun to see Mikey standing behind them with Leo, smirks on their faces.

"When did you two get here?"

"Oh, you know..." Leonardo left the sentence hanging as the gargoyles jumped down from their perches, padding over to the five.

"Elisa, April, Leo, Mikey - it is good to see you," Goliath rumbled. His eyes narrowed slightly on sight of Karai. "...Who is-?"

"This is Karai, Oroku Karai." Leonardo, apparently, was going to do introductions. "Karai, these are our good friends and allies: Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington," the blue-banded Turtle introduced, pointing out each gargoyle in turn. At the annoyed growl, Leo added, "And this guy here is Bronx."

Once more, Karai bowed. "It is an honor to meet you. I have heard rumors of gargoyles, legends when I was in Japan; I did not realize how true they were."

"Indeed, they are very true," Goliath remarked. "We have taken up this city, Manhattan, as our protectorate. ...May I ask, what is your relationship with the Turtles?"

Karai's face gave no emotions away as she explained. "I started out as their enemy. My father, Oroku Saki, also known as the Shredder, was the head of Saki Corp., and the leader of the Foot Ninja, a group of skilled warriors who served out his wishes. I was head of his divison in Japan, and also his adopted daughter. When I came here, I had a brief alliance with the Turtles, before I had to abandon it to hold to my father's wishes. ...When...my father was...imprisoned, we shall say, I was mad with grief, for I would never see my father again. I attacked the Turtles, and though at first it seemed as though the Turtles were finished, Leonardo managed to defeat me. Later, we had another alliance, though it was a rocky one; we had to join forces to defeat a monstrosity known as the Demon Shredder, an impressive tengu who almost destroyed the world. After that, the Turtles disappeared; I became friends with April O'Neil, and when the Turtles returned we became official allies. After this, however, there was this...alternate dimension fiasco, as Michelangelo words it, and my father had returned. At first I sided with him again, but when it was apparent that he would destroy us all, including himself and me, I turned and allied once more with the Turtles. After his final fall, my alliance with them has remained strong." Karai paused here, allowing this information to sink in; Goliath and Hudson were processing this, along with Lexington and Brooklyn, while Broadway was struggling to figure it out.

Then, smirking, Karai added in another, previously unknown piece of information: "I am also Leonardo's girlfriend."

Mikey's jaw dropped, April's eyes went wide, and everyone else simply looked incredibly surprised.

"Dude, Leo, _when_ were you gonna tell us?" Mikey screeched after blinking off the inital shock.

Leo, who had put his arm around Karai now, smirked, amusement glittering in his eyes. "Mm...I dunno. I wasn't really planning to tell you, honestly, though Master Splinter has known for a while."

"Bro, Don and Casey are gonna flip! Raph is gonna have a cow - no, scratch that, Raph's gonna have the whole barn!"

Leo's smirk became a sheepish grin. "That's what I was hoping to avoid."

"...Even I didn't see this one coming," April remarked. Karai glanced meekly at her friend.

"Truthfully, even I did not anticipate it. I do not think anyone really did."

Hudson had already shaken off the shock. "Well, lads and lassies, the night's not gettin' any younger. Let's be off, shall we?"

* * *

><p>Even though the threat of his secret crush on the purple-haired girl Angel was hanging in the balance, Mikey was still off with Brooklyn, going to the East side of Manhattan to see if they could find Don, Raph, and Casey. April and Karai had taken Bronx, and were making sure nothing was going on in the park; Elisa, meanwhile, was on police duty with Matt Bluestone, Goliath and Hudson tailing her. Leo was with Lex and Broadway, patrolling the West side of town.<p>

Suddenly, Leo skidded to a halt, and glared down into an alleyway. A whoosh of air indicated that Lex and Broadway had landed on either side of him.

"What's up?" Lex asked; by now, the Trio, at least, had figured out that when Leo stopped, it usually meant to be quiet and let the katana-wielding ninja take control of the situation, so the web-wing's voice was quiet.

"Purple Dragons." The answer was short and simple, and Broadway and Lex nodded in understanding. Though they had not had many personal encounters, the Turtles had explained to the gargoyles how dangerous the criminal gang could be.

"Do we take them out?" Broadway asked.

"Hang on just a minute," Leo responded. "Be quiet and let's see if we can overhear any details on this heist."

For a few moments, the only sound they could hear was that of large bags being loaded into a truck - bags of money, no doubt - when Hun's voice came.

"Good work, boys," the large man said; Leo stifled a growl. "All the money, and no Turtles to interfere."

"Guess again, Hun." Leo had jumped down to street level so quickly and quietly, Broadway and Lex were surprised to hear his voice come from the alley. The sound of metal scraping against sheaths followed, and dim lights glinted off of Leo's katanas.

Hun sneered. "Well, if it isn't the fearless leader of the group. Where are your brothers - are they too chicken to come out and play?"

"No, they're doing their own patrols," Leo answered calmly. "But I do hope you remember my friends." By now, with the soft rustle of wings, Lex and Broadway had landed in the alleyway, eyes glowing white. Hun stepped back, before his face contorted into a glare.

"Dragons, get 'em!"

With a battle cry, Leonardo launched himself at the first group of Purple Dragons, katanas slicing through chains, pipes, and even the occasional guns. Lexington and Broadway were equally successful in disarming their opponents, and a pile of unconcious PD's was quickly growing in the center of the alley.

It was Broadway who managed to get to Hun first. With a snarl, a lash of the tail, and a flare of wings, the large gargoyle launched himself on to Hun. The large man grunted from the force of the impact, but his own impressive strength allowed him to hold his ground. They were at a stalemate, glaring at each other, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Finally, Broadway struck. He stepped back, and Hun thought the gargoyle was giving up; until, too fast for Hun to react, Broadway spun around, his thick tail knocking Hun from his feet. By this time, Leo and Lex had dispatched the rest of the PD's; Leo was on top of Hun, sword at the man's throat.

"Not a good night to be a Purple Dragon."

* * *

><p>"Park's quiet for once."<p>

"At least this side of it is; we still have another half to check."

"...Good point."

Bronx, who had been padding alongside April and Karai, suddenly stopped, ears perked. He sniffed once, twice, and then began to growl.

"Hey, look, Bronx found something."

"No duh."

Moitioning for April to stay with Bronx, Karai agilely leapt onto a small tree. Her branch wavered for a moment before stilling; the black-haired ninja looked around, green eyes wide and alert, for whatever it was that had alarmed Bronx.

There was a rustle of leaves, and then two armed men stepped out from the bushes below Karai's tree. She held back a snort; they didn't even realize she was there.

"I thought I heard two voices," one hissed to the other.

"Maybe she ran off for help," the other replied. "Either way..."

He raised his voice now. "So, what's a pretty little girl doing out here all alone at night?"

April glared. "I'm just taking a walk," she hissed, venom lacing her voice. "And, in case you didn't notice, I'm not alone." At this, Bronx stepped forward, eyes glowing, and growled menacingly; his sharp teeth glinted in the dim moonlight. The muggers stepped back, eyes wide; and Karai struck.

She leapt from her branch onto the first man, then quickly sliced the other gun in half with a wakizashi she always had on her person. April and Bronx charged in; Bronx pinned the other man to the ground, and a swift kick left the first man limp on the ground.

Another swift kick to the head left the man Bronx had pinned unconcious. April and Karai, who had been glaring at the perpetrators, turned to each other and smirked.

"Patrols are never boring, huh?"

"No, never."

* * *

><p>"I still say it was that monster from earlier this winter that took RECON."<p>

"Okay, Matt, whatever you say," Elisa muttered. "Can we move on from that, please?" She took a half-glance out her window, into the side mirror, to see Hudson and Goliath were still behind her; that fact comforted her slightly.

"Fine, whatever," her partner, Matt Bluestone, grumbled, slouching in his seat and glaring out the window. Elisa sighed.

"Listen, Matt...I'm not your enemy. But you have your interests and beliefs, just as I have mine. But can we move past them, at least for now, and just concentrate on our patrol?"

"Yeah, alright..."

"_All units. All units, respond. There is an armed robbery in progress on 55th and Broadway. All avaliable units, respond."_

Elisa slammed on the brakes; they had previously been going in the opposite direction. In the quiet street, she made a U-turn, and began to speed toward the crime scene.

Above, Hudson and Goliath watched as the car swerved through traffic - in the opposite way they had been going. "It looks like Elisa's gotten a call, lad," Hudson remarked.

"Yes..." Goliath murmured. He flapped his wings as they turned, speeding after Elisa's car. "We should follow, just in case..."

* * *

><p>"Cowabunga!"<p>

The joyous laughs of the orange-masked Turtle could be heard across the rooftops; Raph scowled upon hearing them.

"Great. Mikey's in the house."

His purple-banded brother snorted as twirled his bo staff absentmindedly. "Come on, Raph; deep down, you know you love him."

Raph just rolled his amber eyes as Casey removed his hockey mask. "Hey, uh, Raph - one of your buddies is comin', too."

The red-banded Turtle looked up, blinking; sure enough, a dark shape was gliding over Mikey. As the aforementioned Turtle landed on the rooftop, grinning, the gargoyle landed too; Raph smirked.

"Hey, Brooklyn, how ya been?"

The brick-red gargoyle shrugged as his wings folded around his shoulders. "Eh, you know, same old. You?"

"Same old." Then both grinned, and proceeded to fist bump. Don rolled his eyes slightly, but Casey's blue eyes narrowed.

"Hey Raph, how come ya never properly introduced me to your friends here?" The black-haired vigilante's voice was edged with accusation, and Raph grinned sheepishly.

"Uh...there never really seemed to be a right moment," he explained apoligetically, scratching the back of his head. Straightening, he continued to introductions: "Casey, this is Brooklyn. Brooklyn, this is Casey."

The red gargoyle extended a clawed hand; Casey hesitated, but then took it and shook firmly. "Uh, nice ta meet ya, I guess," the vigilante muttered.

"Same," Brooklyn mumbled. Frowning at the tenseness that had enveloped the air, Mikey stepped forward, grinning.

"OK, so we've all met, wonderful. Now listen, we've got some awesome dirt on Leo!"

Raph's eyes widened. "Really? Dirt on _Leo?_ Mikey, did you go nutso or something? ...Oh wait, you already were nuts."

Blue eyes narrowed behind the orange mask. "Oh, ha-ha, very funny Raph. Listen...oh, well, I'll let Brooklyn tell you. He won't start giggling or chicken out like I will."

"Wait, what?" The now-confused gargoyle shot a glare at Mikey, who shrugged and motioned for him to go on. Brooklyn sighed, wings drooping slightly. "Fine," he grumbled. "You so owe me though, Mike.

"OK, so this ally of yours, Karai - apparently, she and Leo are dating."

The reactions were what Mikey had expected: Donatello's chocolate eyes went wide, his mouth agape; Casey's eye actually twitched as his mouth opened and closed wordlessly; and Raphael looked as though he was torn between fainting on the spot and punching something.

"You're jokin', right? Mike, tell me you guys are jokin'," Casey pleaded. Mikey shook his head; he had started to snicker, but the laughter quickly died.

"Wish I could, guys, but Brooklyn here is telling the 100 percent truth."

All of a sudden, an evil grin stretched across Raph's face. "Oh, just wait until I get to Leo...! This is priceless blackmail!"

Mikey facepalmed as the other four began to move on and discuss the patrol. As he dragged his hand down his face, the orange-masked Turtle muttered to himself, "That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

><p>Goliath was panting slightly, but he mustered up the strength to roar threateningly at the retreating shapes of the theives. Hudson landed next to him; the old warrior looked exhausted, but the glimmer in his good eye showed that he wouldn't mind doing that again.<p>

"It never gets old," Hudson murmured, sheathing his sword. Goliath nodded.

"Yes...it always feels _good_ to stop people like that, even if Elisa cannot capture them and take them off of the streets."

"Watching them run in terror is reward enough, lad!" They began to laugh, a rarity between the two clanmates.

* * *

><p>"Wait, so they tested RECON without me? Aw, man!"<p>

Don had gone into full depression mode at the news that some new, exciting piece of technology had been tested without him. Brooklyn shrugged as his wings flapped; flying low enough to the rooftops for conversation wasn't all that easy, you know.

"Yeah...we were gonna call you, but the police surrounded us on the Statue of Liberty, and we figured if we did get caught, we wouldn't want you guys to get caught too."

"Aww, Brook, you're real sentimental, ya know that?" Raph was highly sarcastic, and the two red themed characters burst out laughing. Casey rolled his eyes as Mikey snorted, before skidding to a stop. Don, Raph, and Casey nearly slammed into him, and Brooklyn had to swoop back around to see what had made Mike pause.

An angry growl came, but it wasn't from Brooklyn. "Purple Dragons." Casey was clenching his hockey stick, knuckles turning white. Raph, too, was glaring, twirling his sais and ready to leap down.

"OK," Don hissed. "We go on three. One...two...THREE!"

The eyes of several PD's were wide as they looked up, gasping at the four shapes that were launching themselves at the gang. The three Turtles and Casey took out six PD's easily, and then launched themselves in seperate directions to continue their assault.

A few noticed the winged shape with glowing eyes swoop down, and all flinched at the piercing roar it gave as the red gargoyle's whip-like tail disarmed several PD's. He then proceeded to land, and it was five against an upwards of thirty Purple Dragons.

It wasn't an even match - for the PD's. Sais and roundhouse kicks, bo staffs and dragon punches, whirling nunchucks and hockey sticks were accompanied by a lashind tail and sharp claws. Within two minutes, the fight was over; Brooklyn, Raph, Casey, Mikey, and Donny were standing triumphantly over the pile of KO-ed gang members.

"You know, that just never gets old," Don remarked to Mikey. The orange-clad Turtle grinned.

"Yeah, it's always fun to watch them think they can beat us, and then get beat up."

"C'mon." Raph was glaring at them impatiently, along with Casey. Brooklyn was beginning to scale the walls, but had stopped to glance back down at them. "Or would you two rather sit here and miss out on more fun?"

Glancing at each other and grinning, Don and Mikey rushed over to follow Raph and Casey up the fire escape, as Brooklyn climbed up beside them. And once back on the rooftops, they took off again; there was more patrolling to do.


	12. Lighthouse in the Sea of Time

Finally, an update. By the way, this story was nominated for 'Best Crossover' over at Stealthy Stories for the annual TMNT Fanfiction Competition, along with 'Dark Super Ninja Turtles' for best AU; TMNT: Snow Wars for best happy ending; and The Shredder's Need for Revenge for best villain. Wish me luck, guys - or if you like these enough, vote!

***Oh, and in other news - there's a poll on my homepage for what pairings you guys want to see most in here! I've already established Leo/Karai, as you saw in the last chapter, and strongly hinted at Mikey/Angel, but if you want to see more of them, then vote for them! I've got various pairings for Don, Brooklyn, and Lexington, and unless Don/Angela, Brooklyn/Angela, or Lexington/Angela are extremely popular, expect Broadway/Angela to pop up when Angela actually appears. Also, I've got a dilemma for Raph's pairing - I either want to put him with Joi Reynard, from the Ninja Tribunal arc of the 2k3 series - and I have a very interesting idea for if you guys vote for her - or else Mona Lisa, because while I never saw her episode, I'd love to experiment with her character here.***

Next up is the Mirror - and I can't wait! I'm going to have so much fun with it...!

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own Gargoyles or TMNT. TMNT belongs to Mirage, Gargoyles belongs to Disney. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Lighthouse in the Sea of Time<em>**

Donatello always seemed to walk into the Gargoyles's hideout at the strangest times - or at least, when he was with Raph and Mikey.

"Why stare at marks on a page when you can rent the video?" Broadway was asking, having just swallowed a sandwich.

"They aren't marks - !" Lexington retorted, attempting to rescue a magazine from Bronx, "-when you know how to read!"

"Well, I can't read!" Broadway shot back, "And I don't think I'm missing anything!"

"Uh-huh," Brooklyn said, that hint of sarcasm still in his voice. "Ignorance is bliss - right Hudson?"

"Ugh, leave me out of this," the older gargoyle grumbled. "It's time for celebrity hockey. C'mere, Bronx!"

As Bronx walked over to Hudson's recliner and flopped down onto the floor, Elisa turned to Goliath. "I've gotta go, Matt and I assigned to the scrolls' escort team."

"Do they know what the scrolls contain?" Goliath asked.

"They're still sealed...but rumor is they're magic spells."

That's when Goliath got his thinking look, and Don, Raph, and Mikey grinned at each other. This was going to be another fun day - that Leo and Splinter missed.

* * *

><p>Raph loved Donatello - mostly because his jetpacks always had such cool surprises. That night, they popped open the wing part to find Don had modified them to look like Gargoyle wings - though they were larger, they were also more streamline and would stop a Turtle from falling too fast if the jetpack ran out of fuel.<p>

Of course, Raph missed most of the gargoyle's conversation over the wind, but he managed to catch Broadway saying, "When your life is this exiciting, who needs books?" He almost laughed out loud.

They managed to see two carrier jets land...and once they were close enough, the man and woman ran back out with the scrolls.

"Ah, shell," Raph muttered as he, his brothers, and the Gargoyles all dived down toward the ship.

Hudson got to one - and was obviously trying to get one of the scrolls. Then - the look of awe and inspiration mixed with empathy for Hudson that crossed Don's face almost distracted Raph from the fact that the jet just electrocuted Hudson.

Goliath was trying to take down the other jet, and a little machine zapper was trying to hit him as he clawed at the wings. Of course, Raph wasn't really paying attention at this point.

The wings of the jetpack retracted, and Raph cut the fuel. He plummeted into the icy water after Hudson - purposely, of course, as only the daredevil would.

* * *

><p>Raph didn't remember blacking out - OK, no one would remember blacking out after hitting that frigid water at that velocity. But a quick glance revealing Hudson made the Turtle grateful that at least he wasn't alone, and that his objective of 'make sure Hudson doesn't get killed' was going smooth-ish. And even better - Hudson had managed to hang on to one of the scrolls.<p>

"Creepy place," Raph noted, however, looking up at where they had washed ashore. The lightning in the background really added to that effect.

He stood up, a little wobbly, and it was only a second before he fell onto his hands and knees. He panted, and then straightened up to watch Hudson's own failed attempt at moving.

Great. At the mercy of whoever lived in that house - if the person even came out to find them. If they couldn't get out of there soon, the rising tide would sweep them back out to sea.

* * *

><p>Leo and Splinter would probably have their hides for not searching for their brother, but Mikey and Don went with Lexington, Brooklyn, and Goliath to Xanatos's castle. Don hated going there with hostile intentions - it kinda got in the way of his promise to work on a cure for the mutates with the billionare.<p>

Oh, it was just Owen. That was fine. Don liked the man - though there was something off about him, he couldn't place it however - but it was better to confront him than Xanatos himself.

"Xanatos, Hudson, Broadway - where are they?" Goliath demanded upon bursting in.

"I suppose they could be anywhere," Owen replied, arching an eyebrow. Ah, another reason Don liked the blonde man with glasses so.

"No more games! Take us to them!"

Owen looked at his little calender, then grinned. "You should know I can't do that," he said, snapping the book closed.

Goliath's eyes burned white. "Then we'll find them ourselves."

* * *

><p>There was...sniffing. Raph heard a dog sniffing. His eyes shot open - darn it, he blacked out again! Then he heard the voice: "What is it, Gilly? You find yourself another sand crab?"<p>

Unsteadily, Raph got to his feet - and this time managed to stay there, though he did let out a soft groan. Hudson, too, coughed, and struggled to rise.

"Who's there? Are you two alright?"

Raph's eyes widened - the man was blind!

"Uh...I had a little trouble," Hudson said, regaining his balance and rising as his wings folded over his shoulders.

"This beach isn't safe after dark anymore," the man said. "Do you need a doctor?"

"No!" Hudson answered, a little too quickly. He thought for a moment, and then added, "Just a place to rest until sunrise. If I could lean on you..." Raph suddenly got a feeling that all those years were finally catching up to Hudson.

"Come on, then," the man said, "I've got a fire going."

"Well there's little I can offer in return," Hudson said. "Except my thanks."

"That's payment in full," the man replied. "My name's Robbins. Jeffery Robbins. And you?"

"Hudson...like the river."

"And your young friend?"

Raph blinked - he hadn't realized the man remembered him. "Raphael," he grunted. "Like the painter."

* * *

><p>"Funny - something about your voice made me think you were a soldier once."<p>

"Aye - I still am, I suppose," Hudson muttered, tracing the scar over his blind eye. Raph frowned as he leaned in the doorway - he hated to eavesdrop, but there wasn't much else to do. He had explored the house a bit, and played with Gilly for a bit, but now was returning to see how Hudson was with Robbins.

"What fills your nights now, Robbins?"

"I write novels - or I did...until I dried up."

"You wrote all of these?"

Raph couldn't suppress his snicker of amusement, and Robbins, too, grinned and chuckled. "Wouldn't that be something? No, but, I did have a few modest successes." He felt around on his bookshelf before pulling a book off. "Here."

Even from a distance, Raph could see that it was brail. He was going to ask if there was a printed version - he was a bit intruiged now - but Hudson beat him to it. "What are these...tiny bumps? Where are the...words?"

"Why it's brail," Robbins explained. "It's how I can read, and write - back when I still had something to write about." He pulled another book from the shelf, this one in print. "Here's a printed version. This'll make more sense to you."

"Bumps...scribbles...what's the difference?" Hudson muttered, half to himself. Raph's amber eyes widened, then went soft with sympathy as Robbins approached the old gargoyle.

"You can't read, can you?"

* * *

><p>"Goliath, they're not here, and the sun's about to come up!"<p>

"You didn't find them? I'm not surprised," Owen said from his chair. Mikey shot the man a look that Don couldn't quite read.

"We're running out of time," Goliath hissed. "You know where they are - tell us!"

Owen sighed. "All of Mr. Xanatos's vertical take off and landing craft are in the shop - but you might try MacBeth."

* * *

><p>"But I'm too old to learn."<p>

"Oh, hogwash. I had to learn brail when I was almost fourty - and I'll learn a new way to read when I'm eighty if I have to."

"Well, who would teach me? I've never told my clan that I can't read."

"I can teach you," Robbins offered. "But that's not really the point, is it?"

"...It...shames me," Hudson muttered, looking away.

"I understand," Robbins murmured. "But it isn't a shame to be illiterate, Hudson. It's only a shame to stay that way."

"Man, everyone seems to be spouting wisdom today," Raph muttered from where he was leaning against the wall. He smirked as the man and Gargoyle chuckled at his statement. Then, the birds started to chirp.

Hudson snatched up the canister and cleared his throat. "I must leave."

"Now I've run you off with my preaching," Robbins complained.

"No, it's not that," Hudson said, his voice genuine. "It's nearly dawn...I have to go." With that, the older gargoyle opened the door. From the window, Raph watched as, with a crinkle of wings, he leapt onto the stone wall, the canister clutched in his hand.

"Wait," Robbins called from the doorstep. It was useless, however. Hudson had already turned to stone.

Raphael had, at this point, padded outside. "I should go too," he said quietly. "My brothers and friends are probably wondering where I am. Thanks for yer hospitality and all that."

Robbins offered a light smile. "Well, take care, Raphael. And, could you do me a favor and remind Hudson of my offer when you see him again?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Robbins," Raph said. Though the man couldn't see him, he waved goodbye and darted off toward the nearest manhole.

He never noticed MacBeth's aircraft hovering above.

* * *

><p>Raph got a nice, long lecture from Leo when he got back, but the two were happy to join Don, Mikey, and the remaining Gargoyles on the raid of MacBeth's place. Just as they landed, another figure swooped down to land next to them. In answer to the question Brooklyn had asked seconds before, Hudson said, "Now we go in."<p>

With the gargoyles circling overhead and the minions shooting at them, it gave the Turtles a perfect opportinuty to strike. Leo went for the man with one eye, Mikey at his side - Raph went for the girl. Of course, the tracking thingies meant they were the next targets.

Donatello, meanwhile, had snuck past them all and was lingering in the shadows of the firey chamber below. Macbeth, in the center, was reading from the scrolls, and Don strained to hear. "He was a stout young boy when I first saw this once and future King...Had I now known what his destiny held I would have laughed aloud...What's this? This is his diary! Where are the spells?"

Goliath got to strike before Don - the Turtle would really have to talk to the largest Gargoyle about stealing the lime light all the time.

"You caught me in a foul mood, _monster_!"

Don moved a second too late, and by then Goliath had demanded that Broadway be released, threatening to burn thee scrolls.

"Go ahead," MacBeth invited. "There's no magic in them at all."

"No!" This was Broadway, from where he was shackled. "They are magic! But you can't burn them Goliath - you can't! It's Merlin's life...in his own words. When you read them...they take you there... It is magic, Goliath! Precious magic!"

"Aye lad," Hudson added. "T'would be the greatest shame to lose them."

Don could see MacBeth was pondering their words. Then:

"You're all tresspassing," he said, pressing a button on his remote. "Now take the scrolls and go," he added as Broadway was released.

* * *

><p>Leave they did - and the Turtles were loving the feeling of flying with the Gargoyles.<p>

"We'll give the scrolls to Elisa so that she may return them to the museum," Goliath said as they flew. "But I can read them to you first if you'd like," he added to Hudson.

"Ack, no thank you," Hudson replied. "We'll read them ourselves - " at this, everyone looked shocked, until the oldest Gargoyle added, "As soon as we learn how."

* * *

><p>A while later, Donatello picked up a book that Raph claimed was written by his blind friend, Jeffery Robbins. "The Sword and the Staff...a Book of Merlin," Donatello muttered, reading the title aloud.<p>

The genius conviniently sat down in the middle of the Lair, causing his friends to have to step around him. As he read, he was reminded of that time long ago...

_The written word is all that stands between memory and oblivion. Without books as our anchors we are adrift neither teaching nor learning. They are windows on the past...mirrors on the present...and prisms reflecting all possible futures. Books are lighthouses erected in the dark sea of time._


	13. The Mirror

Hey guys...long time no see. Sorry about that. I'd blame school or work, or try to explain that I just lost inspiration after my cat died...but truthfully, I had this halfway written when I just sorta forgot about it. And then the computer lost the file. Yeah. Truthfully, the 2012 version of TMNT is what brought inspiration back... A crossover of the 2012 TMNT with Teen Titans has worked its way into my brain, along with new motivation to work on this.

For those still interested and who haven't yet voted, the pairing Brooklyn/Joi has been added to the selection for the poll on my profile page. Currently, Brooklyn/Maggie seems to be the most popular...and while I like this pairing, I'd feel bad if Derek/Talon was left with no one. Also, Joi and Brooklyn is a possible pairing because Raph seems to be destined for Mona Lisa (and oh, this makes the wheels in my head turn ever so joyously...). Meanwhile, Lex and Beth seem to be a surefire thing and Don will be with Robyn unless something happens and more Don/Angela supporters show up (since they are going on the World Tour together).

This episode was a lot of fun to do, despite constant bumps in the road. I loved the plot, and incorporating the TMNT into it was fun. I'll admit, it's a bit short and comes in snippets, but I hope you still enjoy. So without further ado, I give you "The Mirror"!

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Mirror<strong>_

Michelangelo was not really listening to the conversation at all, truth be told. Blah blah magic, blah blah shapeshifters, blah blah Demona, blah blah whatever! He'd had enough of magic, after the fiasco with the tengu Shredder and thr Ninja Tribunal - the only type he thought was cool now was the ability to meld his 'worldly form' with his totally awesome dragon avatar! (Though Splinter had advised against trying to summon their avatars after their medallions shattered for...whatever reason.)

A bright flash of energy brought him back to the current situation, and when he realized what had happened his jaw dropped, along with his three brothers.

"See! This is why I hate magic!"

* * *

><p>Truthfully, Elisa didn't look half bad as a gargoyle. Her skin tone remained the same, and the only ridges found were on her wings, which looked similar to Demona's except for the that they were the same color as her jacket, which had mysteriously disappeared.<p>

Oh, but it came with memory loss. See?! Magic was stupid.

As Goliath attempted to explain to Elisa and finally ended up taking her out for a flight, Mikey leaned over to his brothers and commented, "Y'know, if it wasn't for the whole memory loss thing, they would probably have been making out right about now."

They all giggled at that, with the gargoyles looking at them like they'd lost their minds.

* * *

><p>"Did you see? Everyone in Manhattan's been changed into a...a human!"<p>

As Goliath slapped a hand to his face and muttered 'nonononono', the Turtles fell into a fit of laughter and recieved even more strange looks from their allies. That's when another light flashed, high above on some building.

And like that, the gargoyles were gone, leaving the ninja brothers with a gargoyle Elisa who was too afraid to glide on her own.

Mikey really, _really _hated magic.

* * *

><p>The next lovey-dovey moment after the gargoyles returned with the mirror was spoiled by those who were originally gargoyles being changed into humans.<p>

Raph and Don were snickering quietly, Leo facepalmed, and Mikey groaned. Darn magic has to keep ruining everything.

* * *

><p>A full on frontal assault was stupid - even Mikey knew that. And walking down the street, no matter what the dominant species, was not really on their to-do list. Don wanted to go see if April, Casey, and their other human friends had been affected; Leo argued that they most likely had, and that they should tag along with the gargoyles-turned-human to see what went down. Raph suggested they just watch, because let's face it, where they were going the humans-turned-gargoyle would most likely be watching. Mikey just continued to complain about magic.<p>

And really, they were not going to get involved in a magic fight. Their battles with the Heralds and other tengu ran fresh in Mikey's mind, and he wasn't really too enthusiastic about going down there and facing off against Puck the trickster.

He was surprised when, after Demona noticed them and ordered Puck to attahe's the trickster hesitated.

"What are you waiting for? Do it!"

Puck shook his head. "I would not dare. They are protected by magics as strong as mine, and I dare not test my power against theirs."

Demona had no time to reply, as she was distracted by Elisa. From their vantage point, the Turtles continued to simply watch as angry citizens and Puck's spells went up against their friends.

In the end, they won, of course. They always did.

* * *

><p>"So...who else hates magic now? Anyone?"<p>

Don sighed. "I don't hate it exactly, but I couldhappily live without encounting magic ever again."

"That might be a problem if you hang out with us too much," Brooklyn commented. Beside him, Raph snorted.

"Yeah. Besides, you heard Puck; we got our own power, strong enough to be considered a threat to him."

Brooklyn merely shrugged and turned back to the sun, becoming frozen in stone. As they turned to leave, they heard Elisa murmur something that made them wonder what Goliath had said - or started to say - before he was encased in stone.

"I know. But that's the way it is."


	14. City of Stone

First, some shameless advertising: for those of you familiar with Teen Titans, feel free to check out my new story _Bo,_ a crossover of TMNT and Teen Titans. I am currently trying to write a new chapter for it, along with updating this. I also have a Young Justice and Once Upon a Time crossover, _Look Both Ways,_ for any interested in those shows.

Oh, so have you guys ever had one of those moments where you think up a scene for a chapter of something you're writing that's really far off? Then you go to jot it down, and suddenly you can't remember it? Yeah...I'm having those issues. But at least I still know what I'm doing for introducing characters like Mona and Joi... (just gah all the issues with this thing)

Gosh guys, I'm so sorry to all of you. I just haven't been in the mood to do this for a while. I want to skip over so much, and yet there's some stuff in there that I feel I should address because it relates to previous chapters. As such, I've skipped _The Silver Falcon, Eye of the Beholder, _and_ Vows_ (no major TMNT involvement, the Turtles were just chilling with the Trio during Halloween). Of course, here you'll find _City of Stone_. Definite chapters to be made include _The Price, Revelations, Double Jeopardy_, and _The Cage_. All _Avalon_-related episodes will be done at some point. Possible episodes are _High Noon_ and _Upgrade_; I will most likely not be doing_ Outfoxed_ or _Protection_.

Again, sorry for the lack of speedy updates. Summer work plus actual work is taking its toll once again...

* * *

><p><em><strong>City of Stone<strong>_

_"Omnes conspecti, omnes auditi, in nocte usque ad saxum-"_

"TURN IT OFF, QUICK!"

No questions were asked, but Donatello, who had flinched the second the strange creature had appeared on screen and began chanting, hastily complied. The screen turned black and no noise came from the TV.

"April and Casey," the purple banded Turtle whispered. "Raph, Mikey, call-"

"Already on it," Michelangelo called, shell-cell in hand. Raphael was already hurredly speaking - no, yelling - into his phone. "I'm gonna alert Angel and Karai too. If I can I'll try to get through to Sydney and any of the Acolytes I can."

"Good," Leonardo nodded, allowing himself a quick sigh of relief. Splinter had been staring at the TV screen the whole time, though it was now off.

"She was speaking in Latin," he murmured. "Some sort of spell. I believe we turned the television off before it was completed, so we will not be affected."

"Hopefully we can get through to our friends in time," Don whispered. "From what I could tell - and the translation is rough - it starts out 'all who see this, all who hear this, at night even to stone.' I'm guessing something along the lines of _immutare_ or _commutate_, 'change', comes next, followed by a set of conditions - until some time of day or something happens. Thus, 'all who see this, all who hear this, turn to stone even at night, until' - something."

"We'd better tell the gargoyles," Leo added, glaring at the TV. "With Demona involved, this could get really ugly really fast."

* * *

><p>They arrived at the clocktower too late, it seemed. A stone statue of Elisa stood there, and the gargoyles were nowhere in sight.<p>

"Should we search for them?" Mikey asked.

"More importantly," Raph snarled, "should we check on April, Casey, and the others?"

"No," Leo said confidently. "You heard what they said; they shut it off as soon as they saw it was Demona. Karai hadn't been watching TV anyway, and none of the Acolytes were in New York City, as apparently the broadcast is restricted to this city only. Perhaps we should remain here and make sure Elisa is safe."

"That's a good idea," Don mused. "I have a feeling she'll wake up by sunrise though. The spell said 'turn to stone even at night' - so I'm guessing that it would affect gargoyles too, keeping them stone night and day. Maybe it'll wear off when the sun rises, just as gargoyles break free from their stone sleep when it sets."

Leo began pacing. "Then perhaps..." He turned to them suddenly, and even through the lenses they had crafted into their masks his brothers could see his hazel eyes studying them. "Donatello, Raphael, you two go and try and find any of the gargoyles. Search Elisa's place, Central Park, Pack Studios, even Xanatos's skyscraper if you must. Michelangelo and I will stay here with Elisa."

Donnie nodded. "Alright, Leo. We'll report back ASAP."

* * *

><p>"Well this is interesting."<p>

Xanatos, Brooklyn, and Goliath turned to the new voice in the studio. Leaning against a wall was Raphael, Donatello surveying the destroyed equipment next to him. "Thanks for inviting us to the party."

"So, what, you two have a truce now?" Don asked, straightening to look at the group.

"Temporary," Goliath growled. "You weren't affected by Demona's sorcery?"

"Turned the TV off as soon as we saw her face," Don nodded. "April, Casey, Karai, and Angel are safe too."

"Mike and Leo are with 'Lisa," Raph added. "Apparently she - and Owen there - weren't quite as lucky as some of us."

"Indeed," Xanatos muttered.

There was a sudden crackling, and the Turtles turned to see Goliath and Brooklyn become encased in stone. Turning back to Owen, they watched as the stone simply dissolved away.

"Theory proven," Don murmured with a smirk. Raph resisted the urge to punch his brother.

As soon as Owen could speak, he did, unaware that the phone cord was severed. "Demona's going to turn the entire city to stone! We must-" he blinked, looked around, and put the phone down. "Ah. Good morning."

"Are you aware of what's happened?" Xanatos asked.

"Yes," Owen confirmed, "it was fairly easy to deduce. You stopped the broadcast, I presume."

"With a little help from my friends," Xanatos amended, pointing to the stone gargoyles and the Turtles, who waved. "They've agreed to work with us."

"Then I suggest searching the Grimorum Arcanorum. There may be a counterspell that can-"

"Would finding one help? None of us are practicing sorcerers and I'm told mixing magics is dangerous anyway."

Donatello and Raphael shared a confused look at this comment. What that could mean they could only guess.

"Then perhaps a scientific cure."

"Perhaps...what was the exact translation of Demona's spell?"

Donatello now turned to Owen, curious as to how the man might know, as Xanatos's - what exactly was Owen anyway? - recited the spell's English translation. "All who see this, all who hear this, turn to stone throughout the night until the skies burns."

"Then we'll just have to set the sky ablaze."

"I suggest we hurry; there's only twelve hours until sunset."

"Do you want any help?" Don asked quickly. Raph gave his brother an unreadable look, but Xanatos shrugged.

"Sure. We'll need all the help we can get right now."

* * *

><p>As the sun broke over the horizon, Mikey and Leo watched in awe back at the clocktower as the stone Elisa melted - not broke, but melted - into flesh and blood.<p>

"Turn on the TV, we've got big problems! Demona's -" The now-free Elisa looked around, startled, as the two Turtles waved at her sheepishly. She arched an eyebrow at them.

"Two seconds ago...it was sunset. Now...it's dawn? And where are the gargoyles?"

"Yeah, see, about that..." Leo sighed. This was going to be an interesting explanation.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Donatello was happily in his element - man, he loved blowtorches. Raph had gone home after reporting in, claiming he wouldn't be of much use, despite Don's insistence that his motorcycle and the robots weren't too dissimilar. (Xanatos's fit about Raph not being qualified to touch his nice stuff didn't help either.)<p>

"We'd best hurry - it's nearly sunset," Owen said, looking up from his own welding job. Don sort of tuned anything else out - this was a job that required precision and peace and -

Oh, there go the warning alarms...and it's Elisa Maza. Perfect.

He jumped into the rafters as any sane ninja would do to hide the fact that he might secretly be working for the sort-of enemy of his clan.

The fact that he also got a good view of Elisa and Owen fight and get turned to stone mid-conflict was just a side benefit.

"That's one way to settle an argument," Xanatos commented. Don snickered and then dropped down to help once again.

* * *

><p>Just barely an hour later the gargoyles and Don's brothers arrived. Xanatos, who had just finished the last of the packs, looked up at them. "Perfect timing."<p>

"What is Elisa doing here?" Goliath questioned, motioning toward the stone statues in mid-combat.

"She doesn't look happy," Brooklyn muttered.

"Owen sometimes has that effect on people," Xanatos quipped.

"Donatello?"

"I was helping!" Don piped up indignantly, putting his welding mask down. "Didn't you guys tell them?" Mikey's sheepish grin was enough of an answer.

"And why have you brought out your robots?"

"They're a necessary part of the plan," Xanatos explained. "The spell is designed to end when the sky burns."

"And you can make that happen?" Goliath questioned doubtfully.

"We can," Xanatos amended. He picked up a pack to demonstrate. "We'll fly over the city carrying these packs."

"We rigged them to dispense a flammable but harmless gas into the atmosphere. There are trace amounts of ammonia and hydrogen but most of it is stuff like nitromethane and-"

"Don stop nerding out and let the billionaire finish his plan," Raph huffed, glaring at his genius brother.

"Thank you, Raphael," Xanatos muttered. "Anyway, at a preset time the packs will detonate, and the packs will ignite. I'll lose all my robots - but I can afford it. For ten seconds the sky will appear to be on fire. Hopefully that will break the spell."

By this time, the gargoyles had warily begun putting on the packs. Donatello handed each of his brothers jetpacks along with the chemical packs. They looked at him questioningly when Don made no move to retrieve a pack of his own, but could say nothing because Bronx began barking and clawing at a tapestry.

Xanatos had noticed, and, annoyed, cleared his throat. "That tapestry's from the twelfth century. Quite rare and valuable."

"Go lay down, Bronx," Brooklyn commanded, pausing his adjusting the pack. "We'll be back soon - I hope," he added, muttering the last part under his breath.

"Are _we _to be sacrificed with the robots?" Goliath asked, glaring at the billionaire.

"Of course not. You'll have twenty-five minutes. Just make sure you're out of the upper atmosphere before time runs out."

Goliath sighed as Xanatos put on his helmet. "Very well," he grumbled. Looking back at Elisa, he added to himself, "This has to work."

"Don, aren't you coming?" Raph asked as the others began to file out.

The purple-banded Turtle shook his head. "I'm going to stay here and watch the clock. I'll alert you over the radios when you have five minutes left."

Leo nodded. "Alright Don. Stay safe."

"You too."

* * *

><p>And it was definitely a good thing Don had stayed behind.<p>

He'd been hanging out in the rafters - gosh, when had he become Hawkeye? - when the tapestry Bronx had been clawing at not two minutes beforehand shifted, revealing Demona. "There are secrets about this castle even you don't know, Xanatos."

Don stayed quiet, watching from above. Bronx would alert him if he was needed.

"So nice of him to leave this computer online." Don briefly wondered if she was more than evil. Talking to yourself was a sign of insanity, right? "That will make it easy to spoil his plans.

"But first I'll take care of some unfinished business."

Oh boy.

"I thought I'd rid myself of you long ago, human. Fortunately, that mistake is easily rectified."

She hadn't even swung the mace in her hands an inch when Bronx leapt out of nowhere and tackled the gargoyle. He pinned her against the computer console, growling threatening.

"It's alright my pet. Shhh..." She dropped the mace, and patted the gargoyle-beast's head. "There. Your little human friend is safe. For now. I can keep occupied by destroying Xanatos and Goliath instead."

As Bronx lay protectively in front of Elisa, Donatello was already busy hacking from his shell cell. Creating a backdoor in Xanatos's systems was easy - no matter what Demona did, or changed the passcode to, he'd have a way in when he finally was needed to intervene.

"I hope they like surprises - because they're going to get a big one. The gas packs will explode too soon to ignite the sky and break the spell and far too soon for them to survive."

Bronx growled, obviously knowing that was not good, but Demona paid him no mind.

"Won't that be fun? And once the others are gone, my laser cannon will take care of you, and Owen, and _especially_ **her!"**

Bronx had obviously had enough - he stood up, still growling, and walked toward her menacingly. She backed up, back toward the tapestry she had used to enter.

"And there will be no one left to stop me."

"Is that so, Demona?" a voice asked, and a masked man entered the room now. Don watched with curiosity. This kept getting more and more interesting.

"You've forgotten about me. With the inhabitants of the city frozen in stone it wasn't hard to spot all those robots and gargoyles taking off from the world's largest building." He left out Turtles - oh well. "So I investigated and found exactly who I was looking for."

"You're too late! You can't save them, no one can!" She hit a button, and locked down the system. Or, well, so Demona thought. Horray for speed hacking and backdoors.

"I'm not here for them, I'm here for you." Demona spun around to face the man, shocked. "I want it over between us. I have hunted you throughout the centuries..."

"Take off that mask," Demona demanded, now more confident than a few moments before. "You aren't fooling anyone...Macbeth."

The man glowered, and then proceeded to shed the mask. Don stifled his gasp - it was indeed Macbeth. "I wear this as a reminder of your treachery."

"Let's not start that again - you blame me, I blame you - aren't you tired of talking about it?"

"I'm not here to talk."

"Then what? You know the rules. Killing me will gain you nothing but your own death."

Well that was an interesting development.

"After this long a lifetime I have no fear of that." Macbeth produced a gun from his belt. "I have no desire to live in the kind of world you're creating. Revenge is a dish best eaten cold, Demona. And I have waited nine hundred years for this meal."

While they were busy fighting, Donatello began trying to hack into the computer system from his shell cell. He was continuosuly blocked though. Hmm. Apparently his backdoor needed to be opened from the main console itself. That would be a challenge...

Oh, there were Goliath and Xanatos. And...they all fell through the floor, save for Bronx and the statues, which Goliath saved. Perfect timing indeed.

Don jumped down from his perch in the rafters - perhaps he'd have to do this sort of thing more often - and made his way over to the console. He began typing swiftly, trying to get through his backdoor to-

How on earth had she locked him out of his own backdoor? Great. Just...great.

"Donatello to Leonardo. Demona's sabatoged us. You have one and a half minutes and counting to get out of the sky!"

"_What? That's not enough time to find the gargoyles and warn them! And the sky...it won't burn enough, will it?"_

"No," Don murmured, "but what matters is...you guys. Warn who you can, Leo! ...Please."

"They won't need to," Xanatos's voice said. The Turtle turned to find the man dart over, and with barely any time left on the clock, he quickly typed in..._alone_.

"You got the passcode from her?"

"I'm not sure how, but yeah." The man in the gargoyle-robot suit hit the shut down command, and the screen flashed the termination of the countdown. Don breathed a sigh of relief.

"Scratch that warning, Leo. We got the access code...somehow. You're safe to keep going."

"_Wow, Don, way to scare us out of our shells."_

Don chuckled with relief. "It's what I'm here for, right?"

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, the Turtles, gargoyles, and Xanatos stood on the top of the castle and watched the robots ignite and cause flames to spread throughout the sky. "Magnificent."<p>

Inside, Elisa and Owen turned to flesh again, and backed away from each other, holding their heads in obvious discomfort.

"It worked, they're back!" Brooklyn cheered. There were hugs all around for Elisa from the gargoyles - the Turtles simply stood on the sidelines and high-fived. Er...high-threed.

"You'll forgive me if I just shake your hand," Xanatos asked, holding out a hand to Owen.

"Of course," the blonde said, shaking it. "I'm quite glad the plan worked."

As the gargoyles and Elisa left, Raph slapped Don on the back. "Way to go, braniac! You helped save the day!"

"Again," Mikey added teasingly. Leo just smiled at his bo-wielding brother, clapping him on the back as well. They began to head toward the door, even as an armored Xanatos landed next to Goliath.

"Goliath, we made a good team. You know, all this time I've been wondering why I let you creatures live. Now I know. You come in handy now and then."

Goliath looked surprised at the sort-of compliment, and then grinned. "As do you. ...Occasionally."

The Turtles snickered as they made their way out. Only Donatello lingered now. He turned to the billionaire, flashing a grin.

"Thanks."

Surprisingly, Xanatos smiled back. "My pleasure. Just...tell Goliath that this truce isn't on steady ground."

"Naturally," Don sighed, rolling his eyes. "And you'll let me know about-"

"Haven't I always?"

With one last grin, Donatello joined his brothers in friends, going back to home sweet peaceful home - for now, anyway.


End file.
